In the second half of the first millennium ce the South Asian region of Kashmir developed a distinctive sculptural style that had a major influence on neighbouring regions. John Siudmak's book discusses its formation, its continuation in Kashmir, and its relationship to the sculptural styles of neighbouring regions. The author takes a rather traditional approach, which is obvious in the sense that the eighth-century sculpture of the Kārkoṭa period represents the “classical style” of Kashmir. Consequently the outline of the book presents a progression from “early sculpture”, via a “formative period” and the “emergence of the classical style”, to this exemplary style. Subsequent periods are then discussed in relation to this classical style – sadly often in negative terms – and only up to 1003 ce, the end of Queen Diḍḍā's reign.
Siudmak's book on the sculpture of ancient Kashmir is timely. Not only does it correct earlier publications which offer partial coverage of the subject (such as Pran Gopal Paul's Early Sculpture of Kashmir (Before the Middle of the Eighth Century a.d.). An Approach to Art History and Epigraphy of the Jhelum Valley and Its Peripheral Regions, Leiden, 1986), but it also integrates a number of sculptural corpora from and related to Kashmir that have only recently come to light, among them the so-called Gilgit bronzes, and bronzes preserved in major Tibetan monasteries and published in Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet (Hong Kong, 2001). The inclusion of this material, much of which can be dated, considerably refines our understanding of the stylistic development of Kashmiri sculpture.
Methodologically, the study depends largely on objects for which a provenance and/or date can be established, and relates other objects without such information to them. Occasionally, the relationship of a provenance to a date is tenuous, since it is assumed that a particular site flourished only in the period for which major temple constructions are recorded in history. As sculptures depicting certain deities or beings are discussed in groups, their chronologies overlap, and sorting these relationships out requires considerable effort. In general, the discussion of closely related groups results in seeing variants within the group as being closer to each other than is necessarily proven. Examples include the sculptures of Maheśvara (pl. 173a) and its stylistic twin Kumāra (pl. 197), as well as the brass Durgā (pl. 195) in relation to their comparisons. To this reviewer these sculptures may well be later than this study suggests.
Close attention is required to the entire book, as much of the text consists of meticulous descriptions of the details of the sculptures and their comparisons, a great training for students in the subject, and at times a source for unexpected discoveries even for those familiar with Kashmiri sculpture. Taxing as they may be at times, these descriptions make the process of the author's stylistic reading transparent, and thus distinguish this book from other recent publications on Kashmiri sculptures. In addition, exceptional iconographies specific to Kashmir are discussed in great detail, including in an appendix.
Despite its density, the book needs to be read from start to finish to be fully understood and appreciated, and it can hardly be used as a quick reference work. The rudimentary index is insufficient with regard to the motifs described and the special terms used in the book. Of the latter, only the “double back” tying of the dhotī is referenced in the index, but there is no reference to the distinguished lotus types (for type A see p. 264, for type B, p. 272, for type C, pp. 276–8) or the “window effect”, the latter being a characteristic hairstyle forming an elliptical “window” just above the partition of the hairline as established in the sculptures of Pandrethan in the second quarter of the seventh century (p. 200).
The main strength of this publication lies in its discussion of the earlier periods. The beginnings of Kashmiri sculpture are traced in scarce surviving examples, such as the terracotta figurines attributed to the site of Semthan, and the group of sculptures found at and related to the site of Bijbihara. Incorporating both Gandharan and Sassanian elements (the latter associated with the site of Baramula) provides a welcome reference for small stone sculptures of Hindu deities preserved throughout the north-western regions of South Asia. In these and subsequent chapters evidence is assembled to establish the formation of the Kashmir style, which is then presented in great detail along with its relation to neighbouring regions.
For the ninth century, however, both the argument and the comprehensiveness of the discussion lag far behind the earlier sections. While it is true that major temple constructions were rare in this period, ending the study with queen Diḍḍā's reign appears arbitrary. Kalhana's Chronicle of the Kings of Kashmir (Rājatarangiṇī), written in the mid-twelfth century, is alone enough to indicate that Kashmiri art and thus sculpture continues far beyond this date, and not only in West Tibet, as it appears from the final chapter. As such, this book covers only half of the story of early Kashmiri sculpture: the second half, covering the period from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries, is still outstanding.
