Lost kingdoms Hindu-Buddhist sculpture of early Southeast Asia

This catalogue, and the exhibition that it documents and expands, fills a critical gap in the history of Asia: the formative period (fifth to eighth centuries) of the earliest reception, localization, and deployment of Hindu and Buddhist religious culture from South Asia by Southeast Asian societies. The works included are largely unknown in the West, coming as they do mainly from collections in Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. They mostly predate the somewhat more well-known societies that produced Angkor Wat, Borobudur, and Pagan, and are surprisingly powerful, assured, and moving. The approach of the exhibition and catalogue is principally archaeological, with a generous complement of photographs taken during excavation or in situ. The 170 objects are framed by 18 short essays by leading scholars--chiefly archaeologists, but also art historians, conservators, and historians. The photography and the quality of the book design are outstanding. The essays are all relatively short and pungent, with occasional disagreements on matters of date or significance. The catalogue entries, all written by Guy (Metropolitan Museum of Art), are models of concision. Excellent maps equip the reader to navigate the unfamiliar terrain and kingdom labels, with helpful glossaries and an introduction. --Rob N. Linrothe, Northwestern University

This companion catalogue to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 2014 exhibit of the same name is the first to engage with the artistic and religious heritage of Southeast Asia in order to situate first-millennium Southeast Asian art in the broader context of Asian art. Beautifully produced and visually diverse, this rich volume is organized thematically, with sections on identity creation in Southeast Asia, the influence of the Brahman world and state, and cult art. Brief scholarly essays preface the images, many of which are reproduced in color photographs, and all of which are accompanied by detailed catalogue entries. The book opens with two highly instructive essays by Met curator Guy that analyze the influence of Indic culture upon Southeast Asian art and outline early Southeast Asia's central kingdoms; other notable essays discuss Buddhist law in artistic representation and the impact of new archeological discoveries in central Thailand. The book's strength is in its balance of splendidly reproduced art works and scholarly insight on the art of the early cultures of Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysian, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. 360 illus., 304 in full color. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.