Ajanta: Handbuch Der Malereien, Vol. 1: Interpretation; Vol. 2: Supplement; Vol. 3: Plates (Reviews of Books) (Book Review‪)‬

Ajanta: Handbuch der Malereien, vol. 1: Interpretation; vol. 2: Supplement; vol. 3: Plates. By DIETER SCHLINGLOFF. Wiesbaden: HARRASSOWITZ VERLAG, 2000. Pp. 908. DM 198. This encyclopedic work is the culmination of Professor Schlingloff's extensive researches in the wall paintings of the Buddhist cave temples and monasteries of Ajanta. He has been primarily concerned with the very basic task of identifying the subject matter in all its rich detail, a prerequisite for all further research. Scholars of the greatest eminence had never before completely and satisfactorily accomplished this, in spite of the attention devoted to the subject for over a hundred years. Professor Schlingloff himself has steadfastly pursued his researches for the last three decades, and glimpses of his results are to be seen in his contributions to learned journals. Some of these were brought together in the very useful Studies in Ajanta Paintings (1988), which, unlike the present work, was written in English. The Ajanta Handbuch under review brings to a culmination all his previous work, in a sense completing and perfecting it.