Sculptures in Bangladesh is a descriptive inventory of select Hindu, Buddhist and Jain stone and bronze images (up to the c., 13th century) in the museums and private collections of Bangladesh. This volume is the outcome of a collaborative effort of five scholars from the Institute for Indian Art and Philology of the Free University in Berlin (presently, Art History Institute) and one scholar from the International Centre for Study of Bengal Art (ICSBA) in Dhaka. They are Prof. Dr. Adalbert J. Gail, Dr. G. Bhattacharya, Dr. Falk Reitz, Mr. Gerd Mevissen and Ms. Isabell Johne from Berlin, and Professor Dr. Enamul Haque from Dhaka. The project was funded by a grant from the Foreign Office of the Federal Government of Germany through its Embassy at Dhaka. Although it was planned to be completed within two years, but for unavoidable reason, it took more than three years. The participating scholars voluntarily divided among them the deities and topics each one of them would deal with. The identifications and evaluation are not necessarily unanimous, the individual author being responsible for his or her own work. However, the character of the introductory essays is much different.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Adalbert J. Gail
Adalbert J. Gail born 11.8.1941 at Duren/Germany; promotion in Indology, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich 1968; curator Museum fur Indische Kunst Berlin 1972-1973;professor for Indian Art History, Free University Berlin 1974-2006; Dean of the Faculty of Ancient Studies FU Berlin 1989-1991, professor hospes at the Charles University Prague since 1995; Recent research projects: Sun worship in Nepal (2006/07), Naga worship in Angkor (2008/09).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Enamul Haque
Professor Enamul Haque had his M.A. in History (Archaeology Group) from Dhaka (1960), Diploma in Museology from London (1964) and Doctorate in South Asian Art from Oxford (1973). For three decades since 1962 he served the Dhaka Museum and rose to be the Founder Director General of the Bangladesh National Museum, developing it to be the largest Museum in the Third World. He was for a year (1990) Secretary-in-charge of the Ministry of Culture of Bangladesh. He also taught Art History, Museology and National Heritage in the universities of Dhaka and Jahangirnagar, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology, and the Independent University at Dhaka. An organizer of exceptional ability, he is the Founder Chairman (since 1995) and Academic Director of The International Centre for Study of Bengal Art (ICSBA) at Dhaka, convened four International Congresses on Bengal Art (1976, 1997, 1999 and 2001) and edits the Journal of Bengal Art. He was honoured by the Asiatic Society of Calcutta with the award of the Rama Prasad Chanda Birth Centenary Medal (1993) for his "conspicuous contribution in art and archaeology of Bengal". Earlier, the Asia Society of New York honoured him by electing as their Honorary International Councilor (1986-92). He served as the President of the International Council of Museum (ICOM) Asia Pacific Organization (1983-86). Among his publications, notables are Islamic Art Heritage of Bangladesh (1983) and Bengal Sculptures: Hindu Iconography (1992), the latter being a quantitative assessment of nearly two thousand sculptures now preserved in different parts of the world.
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