Biography
- Benezit Dictionary of Asian Artists
Over 4,700 artists from antiquity to the present from the Benezit Dictionary of Artists (2006). Most are from East Asia, particularly Japan and China. Entries include concise narratives of artists’ careers, bibliographies, exhibition histories, and collection holdings.
See also the Biography tab on the Chinese Art (Modern) guide
An Index Dictionary of Chinese Artist, Collectors and Connoisseurs, with Character Identification by Modified Stroke Count by Call Number: Art Reference, N7348. S48 1998ISBN: 0810820919Artists are listed alphabetically rather than by Dynasty. Part II presents a simple methodology for identifying characters by a modified stroke counting system.
Iconography
- Chinese Iconography Thesaurus (CIT)
Drawing from historical catalogue records and inscriptions on objects, the CIT organizes terms into three groups: General (plants, animals, people, objects, events, etc.), Proper names (Individuals and places) and Motifs / Subjects / Themes. Images link to CIT terminology and the website of original sources.
Buddhist iconography
Behold the Buddha by Call Number: Main Library, BQ5115.J3 D63 2020ISBN: 9780824879990Images of the Buddha are everywhere but their meaning largely depends on the background and circumstance of the viewer. In Behold the Buddha, James Dobbins invites readers to imagine how premodern Japanese Buddhists understood and experienced icons in temple settings long before the advent of museums and the internet. Buddhist images were traditionally treated as the very embodiment of the Buddha, his palpable presence among people. Hence, Buddhists approached them as living entities in their own right--that is, as awakened icons with whom they could interact religiously.
Buddha: his life in images by Call Number: Art Library, N 8193.2 .J673 2003ISBN: 1842229443A survey of significant representations of the Buddha from key regions in Asia, Succinct essays explain the background of each work and the where it was created.
Buddhism by Call Number: Art Library Reference, N 8193 .L6813 1995ISBN: 9782080135582
An Encyclopaedia of Buddhist Deities, Demigods, Godlings, Saints and Demons by Call Number: Art Library Reference BQ130.B88 1994 v.1&2ISBN: 8124600201Broad coverage of the Buddhist pantheon, essays and some drawings are supplemented by an index of attributes in volume 2.
Lives of the Buddha in the Art and Literature of Asia by Call Number: Art Library, NX 676.2.C86 1982ISBN: 0891480226Relates the various stories and episodes of the Buddha's many incarnations, including his final one, as they appear in the literature and art of Asia. On the one hand, they represent a vital interest in the Buddha as a teacher and example of righteous behavior, which is central to Hinayana, or Theravada [Doctrine of the elders], Buddhism. On the other hand, the miraculous content of so many of these stories reveals an aspect of the other main branch of Buddhism, Mahayana [The great vehicle] Buddhism. Stories about the past lives of the Buddha (called Jatakas or Birth Stories) are also covered. (from Introduction p. 2).
Mudras in Buddhist and Hindu Practices by Call Number: Art Library Reference, BQ 512 5.M8 B86 2005ISBN: 9788124603123
