1 comments about Imperial Pagan: Art and Architecture of Old Burma.

1. "Imperial Pagan" is a paperback reprint (159 pages, 8" x 11 3/4" format) of the 1989 hardcover title "Pagan: Art and Architecture of Old Burma" by Paul Strachan. The book provides an in-depth introduction to the Pagan Dynasty (11th-13th century) and its marvelous temples. In Strachan's words, he aimed at "... greater detail than a pocket guide book, whilst lacking the cumbersome nature of a more detailed and encyclopedic study... such a work has been conceived as being of use to both the scholar and the more interested visitor to Pagan." I feel that on the whole, the author has successfully met this objective, although the book does require some effort; it is by no means an "easy read."

   Pagan is a huge site (2 miles x 3 miles, or more), with thousands of temples and temple remnants. To keep the book manageable, Strachan wisely concentrates on the better preserved and more important temples. His "temple-centric" view will be useful to those who visit and study Pagan, but necessarily omits a great deal of the site context; this is a book of art history, not archaeology.

   Strachan divides the art history of Pagan into three periods - Early (850 - 1120), Middle (1120 - 1170), and Late (1170 - 1300). Using this overall framework, the book commences with a 30-page introduction to the history, architecture, and iconography of Pagan. Part II, occupying the rest of the book, describes 70 or so of the major temples, arranged in chronological order. Maps, illustrations, photographs (34 color, 149 black-and-white), a glossary, notes, and index are provided.

   The author is a Scotsman who first visited Burma [Myanmar] in the 1980's, at the age of 18. Falling in love with the place, he returned there after studying art history in college. He has since made it his adopted home, both writing extensively and founding a cultural publishing house and a tour company.

   The book's major strength is the amount and quality of information that it contains, which makes it quite useful as a reference when visiting or studying the site. Its major weakness, I feel, is stylistic: the complexities of Strachan's sentence structure and exposition make it heavy going at times.

   Potential readers also need to be aware that this book assumes a basic prior knowledge of Indian and SE Asian art history; topics like the Mon people, Vishnu, and the Pala art of India (to pick just three examples of many) come up frequently in the book, and it is assumed that the reader already has this sort of background knowledge.

   Clearly, then, this is not a book for the beginner, or for someone with only a casual interest in Pagan. If you are "just passing through," then one of the standard guidebooks would probably be a better choice. Other than that, I feel that most people who have a substantial interest in SE Asian art, especially those who are fascinated by the "city of temples" that is Old Pagan and want to learn more, will be glad to add this book to their libraries.

No comments about Irish Medieval Tiles (Royal Irish Academy Monographs in Archaeology,).

1 comments about The Early History of Greed: The Sin of Avarice in Early Medieval Thought and Literature (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature).

1. Although I had not previously been aware of the historical debate over when and how concern about the human frailty known as avarice entered into western thought, my uneducated guess would have been that it probably happened well before the arrival of the money economy. The human propensity for greed seems to be something that was likely second in arriving into human behavior, once man acquired the ability to conceive of his own death. But of course there are no historical records back that far. But for those who doubt such a claim, Richard Newhauser has scoured the existing historical record to successfully prove his claim that avarita certainly pre-dated the arrival of money.
   
   The most fascinating aspect of this study are the unmistakable consequences of the sin that, despite all the efforts of those in the early church (later church as well) to prevent it, greed has thrived as a human trait and continues to do so. Interestingly, the wealth accumulated over and above the minimum necessary might be best illustrated by the wealth accumulated by the Catholic Church itself.
   
   Certainly, the arrival of money economies didn't hurt man's propensity to hoard. But Newhauser not only shows us records of concern about creed all the way back to 1 CE, but includes slices of many prominent chuch thinkers who were already bargaining with the idea in order that possessions above and beyond what was necessary to live might be permitted - most notably when the nobility or wealthy wielded power in the immediate vicinity. I guess not much has changed since then.
   
   I became aware that, despite the early as well as later efforts by the church, it has failed to control greed in western societies even while demonizing it and collecting enormous amounts of surplus wealth itself.

No comments about The Art of the Sacred: An Introduction to the Aesthetics of Art and Belief.

No comments about Angels (Icons).

1 comments about Guadalupe.

1. An inspirational, exquisite, and poetic, monograph on the influences and evolution of Guadalupe and toward a spirit of Guadalupe. A beautiful, beautiful, book. Stunning photographs and design.

No comments about The Moriah Haggadah.

No comments about Mother of God.

No comments about Great Scenes from the Old Testament: A Pictorial Archive of 160 Illustrations (Dover Pictorial Archive Series).

No comments about Israel history and art.