Artwork of the Day
A Peacock takes a little ram for a walk! What an endearing example of folk creativity! Seen in this most-beloved AntiqueQashqai Shekarlu rug that I cannot get enough of! More … Continue reading
Fierce Deities!
A character that is not pleasant or all goody-goody has an appeal that is perhaps stronger! The glimpse of something fiesty, something temperamental, something strong with overtones of bold confidence … Continue reading
Breathtaking Monastery Art
First, the altitude in the Himalayas makes me breathless and then the paintings in the monasteries take my breath away! Each monastery has so much to offer the vision that … Continue reading
A New Mystery -Ancient Terracotta Blocks
Seen in one of the important trading hubs of the old Silk Route – and retrieved with difficulty from the back of a dealer’s dusty shelf, lying in a plastic … Continue reading
Mountain Art – Large Ancient Himalayan Buddhas – 2
The Mulbeg Chamba Mulbeg is a small Buddhist village in Kargil that I’d first heard of while studying Perak headdress types. Never thought U’d visit it someday to see the … Continue reading
Mountain Art – Large Ancient Himalayan Buddhas – 1
Huge Ancient Buddhist Sculptures in the Himalayas
Ancient Cave Paintings in Sasphol
13th Century Sasphol Caves, Ladakh Went up a mountain to see the magnificent Buddhist cave paintings. Worth every huff and puff. The big achievement was the small journey out of … Continue reading
A Visit to Phyang Monastery
Sat still within the ancient halls with only a young monk in attendance. Time passed unmarked by minutes and seconds. What do these matter when the walls have seen centuries! … Continue reading
What lies within? Copper Manuscript
Found in Odisha, it is said to be a Buddhist Mahayana mansucript in Pali script hand-handhammered into copper plates. Imagine the trouble that went into creating this …. Similar examples … Continue reading
Tales the Phra Malai Thai Manuscripts tell!
It will be years before I will be able to understand all the stories contained in the few Phra Malai manuscripts that I’ve seen! Some are stories from the life … Continue reading
A New Museum to explore
One more window to the history of art & culture. One more state museums – and from my experience, state museums in India are absolutely fantastic!! They go into the … Continue reading
Kammavaca Art – Buddhist Manuscripts from Myanmar
Exploring the art in Ancient Buddhist manuscripts
Palace on the Ganga – Art in Architecture
Just pictures of a lovely place that has the atmosphere of serenity and quietude. The opulence is in the atmosphere created – rather than in its fixtures. … Continue reading
Welcome to The Art Blog
“The purpose of art is washing off the dust of daily life off our souls” – Pablo Picasso
Presenting my notes on the diverse folk arts of Asia and the stimulating cultural stories contained within them – Jaina Mishra
To shop online visit
Dowry Bags & Purses
A link to the Dowry Bags & Purses of Gujarat, India. jm July 2015
Karakalpak Motifs – Art in Geometry
Sometimes it is enough to just enjoy the visual without knowing the meaning… View the complete piece and other images here on wovensouls,com … Continue reading
Ancient Mongolian Buddhist Script for Musical Sutras
A note from 2012 – reposted We have all heard of Do Re Mi as the format for musical notation. It is a language in which we express music. Another … Continue reading
External Article – The Bon Dongba Hieroglyphic Language of Tibet
An article about the this unique script with Dongba symbols that are an ancient system of pictographic glyphs created by the founder of the Bön religious tradition of Tibet and … Continue reading
A Yellow to Warm the Heart
A beautiful bag with beautiful colors found in an unexpected little shop! Getting a thorough Solar-cleansing in Goa’s hot sunshine! The back that tells the experts where this was woven. … Continue reading
My first lesson in Fine Art
Having never ventured into the world of fine art – modern or classic, I was tentative about the subject. What if I did not understand anything, what if I did … Continue reading
Textiles in Ancient Jain Kalpasutras
Sharing the diverse range of gorgeous textiles seen in ancient Jain manuscripts from India
Hairstyles of a Mummy – A visit to Ancient Egypt via The British Museum
A captivating visit to ancient Egypt …. viewing over a dozen mummies and ancient Egyptian art all in a single hall of the British Museum, London. If there is only … Continue reading
How many Indian Manuscripts exist?
In my readings about ancient Indian texts I came across an interesting article by Wujastyk. The main page is linked below. A few interesting excerpts: India as a modern nation-state … Continue reading
The Konark Sun Temple – Celebration of Life
“Except for life there is no other God…” Imagine a temple built to worship life, a temple built to joyously celebrate life itself, this temple would look like the … Continue reading
Architectural Art – ChiangMai Outskirts
No words. Just pictures. Of impressive architecture. From the present & from the past. Temples that are alive with deities & worshippers and a 17th century city in ruins. ChiangMai … Continue reading
Anachronism : Mumbai & Elephanta
Among the largest mega-cities in the world, Mumbai also has an anachronistic satellite island about an hour away from its shores. An island that is only a few kilometers away … Continue reading
Journey to the Past : The science of Epigraphy
Imagine walking through a maze with instructions written in a language we do not understand. In reconstructing the history of a civilisation, we work with very few clues – artefacts, … Continue reading
In the Presence of the Past – Ancient Caves of Odisha
Just outside Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, India monks carved out a cave complex from the stone mountain and made it their home. Today, I am here, in the same point in space … Continue reading
The Magnificent Stone Artefacts of the Odisha State Museum
Orissa has been the seat of rich ancient civilizations and some of the archaeological finds have been displayed at the State Museum, Bhubaneshwar. Museums in the cities of India are … Continue reading
Kalinga Diaries
Kalinga. Now called Odisha (Orissa). The poorest state in India financially. Yet, among the richest states culturally. Every Indian has heard of Orissa through its arts – either the dance, … Continue reading
18th / 19th Century Yao Painted scrolls, North Vietnam
Art. A subject that seems enticing, mysterious as well as ambiguous. An area where it is hard to be sure of oneself especially with respect to valuation. When I look … Continue reading
The Batak Calendar from Sumatra, Indonesia
Everyone reading this would know that it is the year 2012. And everyone would also know that the world did not begin 2012 years ago – so what does this … Continue reading
Ancient Murals of Alchi Monastery – an art-collector’s delight
Alchi is a sleepy and simple unglorified village about 70 km to the West of Leh. Nothing in its approach route or in the buildings and structures of the village … Continue reading
Christian Paintings from the Past
Old. Beautiful. Full of stories. Full of devotion. Antique Church Paintings. Many of these are on wood board. Others may be on canvas. Some hang high up on walls and … Continue reading
Terracotta Warriors, Xi’an – a photo gallery
Made of . These and other artifacts like bells, cranes, amulets and weapons are all widely speculated by experts to be part of the recreation of Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s … Continue reading
Unusual Architecture of Tamdi Surla Temple
Deep within the forested areas of Goa lies a stone temple which seems to have very unusual architecture. Made entirely of stone – some slabs that are so large that … Continue reading
