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South Asia Art Archive

W. Norman Brown South Asia Reference Room, 5th Floor, Van Pelt Library

Introduction To AIIS South Asia Art Archive

Guide to the AIIS South Asia Photo Archive Cabinet Drawers

Holdings
The South Asia photographic archive at the University of Pennsylvania principally duplicates the holdings of the American Institute of Indian Studies' Center for Art and Archaeology in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. Set up at the University in 1979, this archive is a national facility, open to all who are interested in the study of Indian art. Holdings currently consist of ca. 100,000 black-and-white photographs (classified by period and region), site and museum indexes, and ca. 4,000 color slides which duplicate those held in Gurgaon. (In addition, the University has a teaching collection of ca. 15,000 South Asia slides.) By agreement with the AIIS and the Smithsonian Foreign Currencies Program, which funds the Gurgaon Center, photographs added to the Gurgaon archive are added also the archive in Philadelphia, keeping it a current tool for research. The archive also has documentation in the areas of Baroque architecture in India and the architecture and sculpture from other parts of South Asia.

Web sites for the Center for Art and Archeology in Gurgaon and other AIIS Offices.

Location
The archive forms part of The W. Norman Brown South Asia Reference Room on the fifth floor of the University's Van Pelt Library, 34th and Walnut Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19104. The archive is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Visitors are advised to contact David Nelson, South Asia Bibliographer, for access (215-898-7460).

Accommodation
Across the street from the Van Pelt Library is the The Inn at Penn. Also closeby is the the Sheraton University City Hotel. at 34th and Chestnut Streets. Student rooms are available in the International House, 3701 Chestnut Street. Less expensive is the Divine Tracy Hotel, 20 South 36th Street. Advance reservations are recommended.

Supply of Photographs
The archive facility at the University of Pennsylvania is not able to supply photographic prints. Prints from the AIIS negatives, however can be requested directly from the AIIS Center for Art and Archeology, Post Bag No. 67, Plot No. 22, Sector-32, Institutional Area, Gurgaon-122 001 Haryana, Telephone: 91-124-381424 or 91-124-381536, Fax: 91-124-380843 e-mail: aiiscaagaon@sapta.com, Main Contact: Dr. U. S. Moorti, Deputy Director (Research). Negative numbers should be noted while using the Pennsylvania facility.

Donations
The archive has received donations from alumni of photographs and of paintings which decorate the facility. A grant from the Asian Cultural council and funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency, have helped establish the archive, and have provided graduate archival assistance during the first few years. Additional donations are welcome, and will be needed to maintain and expand the facility. Interested donors should contact the curator, or the chairman of the South Asia Regional Studies Department.

Fine Arts Teaching collection
In addition to the AIIS South Asia archive, a slide and photo collection is maintained by the Fine Arts Library for teaching purposes. Inquiries should be directed to Collection staff at pictures@pobox.upenn.edu.

Subject Categories of AIIS Photograph Archive

Miniature Paintings

Divided alphabetically by school first. Under each school, the paintings are arranged by century and under each century into the following three groups:
  1. General, further arranged by Museum (arranged first under name of city) 
  2. Manuscripts, arranged by title alphabetically 
  3. Painters, arranged by first name of painter 

Rock-shelter Paintings

Arranged under name of site

Architecture and Sculptures

Arranged by site name under name of state

Bronzes

Arranged by site name under name of state

Plans and Sections

Arranged by site name under name of state

Contacts



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