1916 · First edition

Rajput Painting

Two volumes: Text & Plates

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy

London: Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 1916. First edition. Two volumes, large folio: Volume I, Text; Volume II, Plates. Original publisher’s cloth, richly lettered and decorated in gilt. Illustrated with seventy-seven plates, including colour and mounted plates. A foundational work in the modern understanding of Indian painting, Rajput Painting was the first sustained scholarly study devoted to the courtly painting traditions of Rajasthan and the Punjab Himalayas. Its publication helped establish “Rajput painting” as a distinct art-historical field and transformed the international appreciation of artistic traditions that had previously been misunderstood, neglected or treated as subordinate to Mughal art.

One of the most influential books on Indian painting.

Publication

London, 1916

Language

English

Format

Two complete volumes, folio size.

Completeness

Fully complete; all plates and pages intact.

Condition

Very fine. The original gilt-decorated bindings remain handsome and well preserved; the interiors and plates are clean and present exceptionally well, with only minimal signs of age.

Provenance

Provenance details available on request.

Rarity

A foundational work that established the modern understanding and scholarly appreciation of Indian miniature painting, particularly the Rajput and Pahari traditions. Complete first-edition sets in their original bindings are highly desirable, especially because the large plate volume was vulnerable to dispersal and the removal of individual illustrations.

Status

Available

Price

USD 4,750