The Sompuras is one of the communities of stone temple carvers and monument builders. Employed in temple building across India the craft is considered a holy duty. The masons and stone carvers specialize in creating idols, motifs for religious structures. Religious structures are built regionally to show the use of local style Gujarat craftsperson are […]
The religious art of Laos is primarily Buddhist and central to it is the Buddha image, depiction of events from the Jataka tales – folk tales written down after the Buddha’s death describing the animal and human forms he had taken in his past 550 lifetimes on his journey to enlightenment, mythological stories and religious […]
Shifting political dominance and boundaries within the South East Asian region have left multi-cultural imprints in a number of fields, including art and architecture. This immense diversity of art and architectural forms, corresponding to different periods of Lao history, and its influence can be seen, even today in the graceful Khmer temple complexes, elegant Buddhist […]
In the early morning light the first rays of the sun strike and illuminate the gilded temples of Nepal. The skilled craft of gilding dates back more than a thousand years – ancient temples bear evidence to this. The gilded figures of Acharya Bandhu Dutta, King Narendra Deva, and the former Ratham Chakra of Lalitpur […]
One particular aspect of the Newari genius stands out against the Katmandu skyline: architecture. The pagoda-style temple, so characteristic of the Valley, may have been the prototype for pagodas throughout eastern Asia, each country modifying the original Newari idea. Arniko, the most famous of early Nepalese architects, was called to Kublai Khan’s court in Peking […]
NAQQASHI/ KAMANGARI/ RELIEF FRESCOS A number of historical buildings in Pakistan display fine work in fresco done by artists several centuries ago. The ceiling and upper portions of the walls of the ante-chambers at Emperor Jehangir’s Tomb in Lahore are wholly covered with decorative paintings and no visitor to the Wazir Khan Mosque can fail […]