Frederick M. Asher

Region of Interest

South Asia

Primary Country of Residence

United States of America

Title

Chair, Department of Art History

Affiliation

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

Email

asher@tc.umn.edu

Mailing Address

University of Minnesota
338 Heller Hall
271 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455 USA

Phone/Fax Number(s)

Phones: 612-624-4500
612-624-3569
FAX: 612-626-8679

Countries of Specialization

India

Research Interests

Projects:

1. Indian artists working in traditional modes, particularly focusing
on artists at Patharkati and their kin working in Jaipur; I am
interested in how they procure their stone, how they interact with
patrons or otherwise sell their products, how they evaluate quality,
and all other aspects of their work.

2. The source of rock from which eastern Indian sculptures,
particularly those of the Pala dynasty, were carved; I am purusing
this by examining the petrology of samples from both sculptures and
possible quarry sites.

3. The historiography of the discipline, that is,
South Asian art history; I am particularly interested in the construction
of the discipline along religious lines and the sense that seems to
permeate scholarship that, in essence, the older the work the more
interesting it is, or, conversely, the more recent the less interesting it
is for art historians.

Publications

None on file.

Keywords

art history ; Indian artists ; traditional art ; Patharkati ; Jaipur ; historiography ; religion ; .