New York-based Asia Society to host Kashmir exhibition

New Delhi, Sept 2 (UNI) The New York-based Asia Society, an NGO, will host the first-ever exhibition devoted to the rich artistic tradition of Kashmir from October 3.

Multiple cultural influences have fostered a unique artistic environment of diverse aesthetics, witnessed in the exhibition of 130 objects of exemplary quality, dating from 2nd to 20th centuries.

''The exhibition --'The Arts of Kashmir'-- aims to increase understanding of the historic and artistic role of the region in development of intellectual life of South Asia,'' said Asia Society Museum Director Melissa Chiu.

''Understanding Kashmiri cultural heritage is crucial for all of us in today's world especially because it tends to be overly simplified in much of the current reportage on the region,'' she added.

An important cultural bridge between the Indian subcontinent and the regions to the West and East over two millennia, the Kashmir valley has remained a vibrant hub of intellectual activity for its Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim populations, she said.

The exhibition comprises works of Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic Art, including sculpture, painting and calligraphy loaned from collections in the US, Europe and India.

Many of the objects have never been seen outside India, in some cases, they have never been exhibited or published anywhere.

To provide a sense of the broad artistic contributions of this famously lush and beautiful region, the exhibition includes examples of stone and bronze sculptures and manuscript paintings, in addition to the fine examples of papier-mache, carpets shawls and embroidery for which Kashmir is renowned.

The Arts of Kashmir curator Dr Pratapaditya Pal, an expert on the subject, said the exhibition tells the story of generations of Kashmiris who excelled in producing art in a wide variety of media, not only the shawls that have become synonymous with Kashmir.

The exhibition is organised chronologically, with works dating from Kashmir's beginnings as an important centre for Hindu and Buddhist practice and philosophical development to the 20th century.

One of the earliest pieces in the exhibition is a 4th century terracotta tile depicting crouching ascetics and birds from Harwan, a site associated with Buddhism.

Lost surviving sculptures from ancient Kashmir were created to serve religious purpose, for both Hindu and Buddhist patrons who included ministers, merchants and monks.

A 7th century limestone sculpture of goddess 'Indrani, the exceptional loan object from Srinagar which has never been seen in the US, is also part of the exhibition.

UNI