STYLISTICS OF BUDDHIST ART IN INDIA

MIREELE BENISTI

2003, xiv+346pp., 2 vols. (text & plates), 288 illus., ISBN: 81-7305-243-3(set), Rs. 4000 (HB)

This book contains many landmarks in the history of Buddhist doctrine and art, presented on the basis of in-depth analysis of the styles and icons of stūpas. It emphasizes the study of minor votive stūpas and those figured in reliefs, which, undamaged and represented with complete ornamentation, are testimonies about the conception and use of this object of worship.

Another emphasis of this work is on stylistics, i.e. the study of styles systematically conducted with a precise and elaborate method, constituting a full­ fledged discipline, which, along with iconography, provides a solid foundation for scientific history of art.

Buddhist texts relevant to the conception, building and worship of stūpas, such as Kriyāsaṁgraha, are referred to, with edition and translation.