Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
In Search of Vishwakarma: Mapping Indian Craft Histories

In Search of Vishwakarma: Mapping Indian Craft Histories

Ramaswamy, Vijaya

Hardcover

AnthropologyAncient History GeneralIndian & South Asian History

ISBN10: 9352908406
ISBN13: 9789352908400
Publisher: Primus Books
Published: Oct 1 2019
Pages: 294
Weight: 1.35
Height: 0.81 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English

'The Indian craftsman conceives of his art, not as the accumulated skill of ages, but as originating in the divine skill of Vishwakarma and revealed by him', wrote Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy, in his book The Indian Craftsman. For the traditional Indian craftsman, crafts and worship have a symbiotic relationship. Vishwakarma is both God and man, the divine architect of the Gods and the God of craftsmen, worshipped by all the artisanal communities, across the country. He is both signifier and signified. Vishwakarma is 'the sum total of consciousness, the group soul of individual craftsmen of all times and places' and simultaneously a community of craftsmen living their everyday lives--crafting icons and building monumental structures, while struggling to eke out a living as artisans. This volume on the conception and perceived realities of the Vishwakarma seeks to explore the hermeneutics of 'Vishwakarma' and to document a rich tapestry of images as well as historical information regarding crafts and craftsmen through the ages.

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