Selected Papers of Coomaraswamy Volume 1

<p><b>A collection of important essays by a pioneering interpreter of Indian art, philosophy, and mythology</b><br><br><b>“Brilliant.”—Joseph Campbell, author of <i>The Hero with a Thousand Faces</i><br><br>“Varied, imaginative, incredibly learned. . . . Fascinating.”—John Kenneth Galbraith, <i>New York Times Book Review</i></b><br><br>Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1877–1947) was a pioneer in the study of Indian art, philosophy, and mythology—and in the cultural meeting of East and West. A scholar in the tradition of the great Indian grammarians and philosophers, an art historian convinced that the ultimate value of art transcends history, and a social thinker influenced by William Morris, Coomaraswamy was a unique figure whose works provide virtually a complete education in themselves. Finding a universal tradition in past cultures ranging from the Hellenic and Christian to the Indian, Islamic, and Chinese, he presented his ideas in numerous essays. This volume includes a selection of his essays on art and symbolism that were written in the 1930s and 1940s, when he was at the height of his powers.</p>