1st Edition

The Courts of Pre-Colonial South India Material Culture and Kingship

By Jennifer Howes Copyright 2003
    296 Pages
    by Routledge

    296 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book investigates how the material culture of South Indian courts was perceived by those who lived there in the pre-colonial period. Howes peels away the standard categories used to study Indian palace space, such as public/private and male/female, and replaces them with indigenous descriptions of space found in court poetry, vastu shastra and painted representations of courtly life. Set against the historical background of the events which led to the formation of the Ramnad Kingdom, the Kingdom's material circumstances are examined, beginning with the innermost region of the palace and moving out to the Kingdom via the palace compound itself and the walled town which surrounded it. An important study for both art historians and South India specialists. The volume is richly illustrated in colour.

    Introduction 1. The Mansara and Pre-Colonial Kingship 2. Vijayanagara and Madurai 3. Ramnad Kingdon's Emergence 4. Paintings in the Ramalinga Vilasam 5. Ramnad Palace 6. Ramnad Town 7. Ramnad Kingdom 8. Ramnad's Rivals

    Biography

    Jennifer Howes

    'This book is full of interesting insights and thought provoking ideas.' - South Asian Studies