From Temple to Museum

Salila Kulshreshtha is an independent researcher currently based in Dubai. She has taught Art History, History and Humanities in Mumbai at Rizvi College of Architecture and Indian Education Society’s College of Architecture and in the USA at the Old Dominion University and Virginia Wesleyan College. She secured her PhD in History from the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Her doctoral research focuses on how the spatial relocation of sacred sculptures brings about a change in their identity and ritual purpose. She has worked on issues of urban heritage and heritage education with INTACH and with the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum. Her forthcoming publications include Removable Heritage: Nalanda Beyond the Mahavihara and Between Shrines and Monuments: Heritage of Sacred Spaces in South Bihar. She has also published with the online journal wire.in. Her research interests include religious iconography, afterlives of shrines, colonial archaeology and the making of museums in South Asia.

• List of figures. List of tables. Preface. Introduction Part I: The Making of Museum Collections 1. Creating Identities 2. Making of Museums Part II: The Icon in Context 3. Sacred Sites 4. The Umā Mahesìvaramurti 5. Shifting Centres 6. Conclusion: From Sacred Icons to Objet d’art. Glossary. Bibliography. Index

'From Temple to Museum, a study based on rigorous field work south of the Ganga in Bihar, provides critical insight into the sculptural production of this richly interesting area, one with a complex history not only in antiquity but also during colonial and more recent times. Especially important in this region, perhaps best known for its Buddhist material, is the Uma-Maheshvara imagery that abounds, even at Buddhist sites, which Salila Kulshreshtha so effectively contextualizes.' Frederick M. Asher, Professor, Department of Art History, University of Minnesota, USA