At the Intersection of Jain Art and the Arts & Crafts Movement JAIN WOODEN HOUSE SHRINES IN AMERICAN MUSEUM COLLECTIONS

[Manish Modi]

At the Intersection of Jain Art and the Arts & Crafts Movement
JAIN WOODEN HOUSE SHRINES IN AMERICAN MUSEUM COLLECTIONS

A Lecture by Prof Dr John E Cort

When
29 November, 2017

From
6 pm

Where
The Museum Auditorium
Museum Visitors Centre

CSMVS
159-161 Mahatma Gandhi Road
Opposite Regal Cinema

Mumbai 400032

Introduction to the Topic

Gujarati Jain wooden house shrines (ghar derasars) are one of the wonders of Indian sculpture, but have been little studied, and so are not very well known. Why, therefore, are there at least nine of them in American museum collections? Answering this puzzle led Cort to investigate the life and career of Lockwood de Forest (1850-1932). De Forest was the last of the Hudson River painters, and also a well-known Arts and Crafts designer in late-19 and early-20 century America. Much of his design work incorporated Gujarati wood carving, which he imported in collaboration with the Ahmadabad Wood Carving Company. His interest in Gujarati wood carving also led to him arranging for some masterpieces of this craft to enter into American and British museum collections, and spark an interest in it among American art collectors.

Introduction to the Speaker
Widely regarded as one of the leading scholars of Jainism in the West, John E. Cort is Professor of Asian and Comparative Religions at Denison University (USA), where he also holds the Judy Gentili Chair in International Studies. His research focuses on the Jains, and combines both ritual studies and art history.

 

Lecture organised by
The Museum Society of Mumbai


http://www.navelgazing.net/2017/11/aum-hrim-sriparsvanathaya-namah-jay.html