The Caves at Aurangabad Early Buddhist Tantric Art in India by Carmel Berkson

Vintage First Edition 1986 The Caves at Aurangabad: Early Buddhist Tantric Art in India by Carmel Berkson.  - A comprehensive visual and analytical study that frames the 6th century rock cut Buddhist shrines of Aurangabad, Maharashtra as the crucial evolutionary bridge between classic Mahayana art and the rise of early Tantric Buddhism in India. Through extensive black-and-white photography, site plans, and scholarly text, Berkson demonstrates how these long-overshadowed excavations departed from the narrative-heavy traditions of nearby Ajanta to pioneer complex ritual mandalas and Esoteric iconography.   The monograph pays particular attention to the emergence of highly sensuous, powerful female deities and proliferating Bodhisattvas carved within the shrines, arguing that these artistic innovations represent the earliest structural and sculptural manifestations of Vajrayana ritualism.  - First edition published in 1986 by Mapin Publishing.   - 238 pages.   - Condition: Dust jacket shows some wear on edges. Hardcover is in good condition excepting some rubbing on edges also. Inscription of previous owner inside cover. Pages clean with minimal signs of handling.