2006 - Amorous Delight (Catalogue)

The Amarushataka Palm Leaf Manuscript, llustrated by the Master of Sharanakula (Orissa, India)

Around 1800, an anonymous engraver in Sharanakula, a small temple place on the southern coast of Orissa, illustrated a palm-leaf anthology of love poems. The one hundred Sanskrit quatrains, which are said to be the work of the 7th-century poet Amaru, describe the behavior of enamored couples, their longing for each other, the lovers' anxieties, their ecstatic joy as well as their doubts and sorrows. In India, these quatrains have at all times been cherished for their elegant language. Then, two hundred years ago, a great master-engraver visualized these verses in many small but meticulously executed and richly detailed illustrations - erotic scenes of remarkable Quality!

Most Beautiful Swiss Book of the Year 2006

Authors: Eberhard Fischer, Dinanath Pathy
Artibus Asiae Publishers (Supplementum 47)
1st edition, 2006
Hardcover, 256 pages, 261 colour and 39 b/w illustrations
31 x 23 cm
ISBN 3-907077-21-0

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