Chandraketugarh : A Treasure House of Bengal Terracottas

Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Excavations. 3. Material evidence from the excavation. 4. Terracotta art. 5. Inventory of the Terracotta Plaques and Figurines from Chandraketugarh. 6. Epilogue. Appendices: 1. Terracotta Plaques reported in the IAR. 2. A few non-Terracotta objects from Chandraketugarh. Bibliography. Index. "This compendium on Chandraketugarh, the renowned Archaeological site and the treasure house of Bengal Terracottas, is intended for both the general readers and the serious scholars. For the first time, the general readers will have access to a very important source of fascinating art of ancient Bengal presented in a readable and comprehensible manner. Similarly, the painstakingly compiled materials will provide the researchers with the background to examine the various aspects of Chandraketugarh. The author believes that any general study of pioneering nature is bound to be superceded by subsequent new research and wider knowledge. Even then it is expected that this carefully documented and liberally illustrated volume will be treated as a continuing source of information for a long time to come about Chandraketugarh and the art materials found therefrom.

"This summation work, long overdue, attempts to reconstruct the picture of Chandraketugarh, based on the summary notices in the annual publications of the Archaeological Survey of India, other stray articles published in different journals and personal visits to the site by the author. The assembly of nearly a thousand Chandraketugarh Plaques and figurines belonging to museums and private collections from so many countries of the world has made it possible to rectify, confirm or repudiate many previous wrong, weak or inconclusive identifications or interpretations. Now, it is possible to indulge in the assessment of the themes and motifs of the Chandraketugarh artists in particular and the evolution of the Terracotta art of Bengal in general during the few centuries of the Early Historic period.

It is indeed an unique way of complimenting the archaeological site of Chandraketugarh by presenting a sumptuous volume, the first of its kind, with 678 illustrations of which 400 are in colour." (jacket)