Tree and Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India

This groundbreaking study presents Buddhist art from monastic sites in the south, highlighting discoveries and research essential to understanding the origins and meaning of Buddhist artistic traditions. It features new photography of rare works of art and explores Buddhism's emergence in southern India and its deep commercial and cultural engagement with the Hellenized and Roman worlds.

Format: Hardback
Length: 344 pages
Publication date: 27 June 2023
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art

This groundbreaking study presents a comprehensive exploration of Buddhist artistic traditions, featuring a remarkable collection of new photography of extraordinarily rare works of art. Through extensive research and discoveries, it sheds light on the origins and profound meaning of these artistic expressions.

Named for two primary motifs in Buddhist art, the sacred bodhi tree and the protective snake, Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India is the first publication to foreground devotional works produced in the Deccan from 200 BCE to 400 CE. Unlike traditional narratives that focus on northern India, where the Buddha was born, taught, and died, this groundbreaking book presents Buddhist art from monastic sites in the south.

Long neglected, this is among the earliest corpora of Buddhist art surviving, and it is considered one of the most sublimely beautiful. An international team of researchers contributes new scholarship on the sculptural and devotional art associated with Buddhism, and masterpieces from recently excavated Buddhist sites are published here for the first time.

These include Kanaganahalli and Phanigiri, which are among the most important new discoveries in a generation. The definitive study expands our understanding of the origins of Buddhist art itself, delving into the emergence of Buddhism in southern India and India's deep commercial and cultural engagement with the Hellenized and Roman worlds.

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press, this exhibition showcases the remarkable works of art from July 21 to November 13, 2023, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It will then be exhibited at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul from December 22, 2023, to April 14, 2024.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition of Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India is a testament to the enduring beauty and significance of Buddhist art, offering a profound insight into the rich cultural heritage of India and its profound connections with the world.

Weight: 2250g
Dimension: 240 x 323 x 37 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781588396938