Lives of Indian Images

'For many centuries, Hindus have taken it for granted that the religious images they place in temples and home shrines for purposes of worship are alive. Hindu priests bring them to life through a complex ritual "establishment" that invokes the god or goddess into material support. Priests and devotees then maintain the enlivened image as a divine person through ongoing liturgical activity: they must awaken it in the morning, bathe it, dress it, feed it, entertain it, praise it, and eventually put it to bed at night. In this linked series of case studies of Hindu religious objects, Richard Davis argues that in some sense these believers are correct: through ongoing interactions with humans, religious objects are brought to life.

'Davis draws largely on reader-response literary theory and anthropological approaches to the study of objects in society in order to trace the biographies of Indian religious images over many centuries. He shows that Hindu priests and worshipers are not the only ones to enliven images. Bringing with them differing religious assumptions, political agendas, and economic motivations, others may animate the very same objects as icons of sovereignty, as polytheistic "idols," as "devils," as potentially lucrative commodities, as objects of sculptural art, or as symbols for a whole range of new meanings never foreseen by the images' makers or original worshipers.' (From publisher's website)

Access level

Onsite

author

Richard H. DAVIS

publisher

Princeton University Press (Princeton, United States)

Location code

REF.DAR

Language

English

Keyword

art history, religion, India

Publication/Creation date

1999

No of pages

350

ISBN / ISSN

9780691005201

No of copies

Content type

monograph

Chapter headings

Introduction

Living Images

Trophies of War

Images Overthrown

Visnu's Miraculous Returns

Indian Images Collected

Reconstructions of Somanatha

Loss and Recovery of Ritual Self

Conclusion: Identities and Manifestations

Citation

Rights statement

In Copyright

What does this mean?

This item is covered by one or more copyrights. It is available for research only or use within Hong Kong’s fair dealing rules. Please do not copy, re-use or reproduce this item without the permission of the copyright holder.