Getting Started: South/East Asian Art
This section provides information on English language resources for South and Southeast Asian art. This includes print books and ebooks, article databases, images, streaming media, and digital resources.
Get started with the Quick Links section of this guide before exploring the topic-specific resources in this section.
Note:
English language print materials on South/East Asian art are located in the Music, Art & Architecture Library.
Print materials on related history, aesthetics, and humanities topics can be found at the Koerner Library and/or Rare Books & Special Collections.
Materials published in languages prevalent in South/East Asia can be found at UBC's Asian Library.
Databases
Start your search by looking at the Databases section of the general Art History & Visual Art guide.
Then explore the topic-specific databases below.
- Asia-Studies Full-text Online This link opens in a new windowReports on business, government, economic, environmental and social issues in 55 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
- Bibliography of Asian Studies This link opens in a new windowContains nearly 800,000 records on all subjects (especially in the humanities and the social sciences) pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia published worldwide from 1971 to the present.
- Anthropology Plus This link opens in a new windowThis key anthropology database is a comprehensive index of the literature in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, folklore, material culture, museum studies, and related interdisciplinary research.
- Asia-Studies Full-text Online This link opens in a new windowReports on business, government, economic, environmental and social issues in 55 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
- RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Online Catalogue This link opens in a new windowFormerly the Architectural Publications Index, the British Architectural Library is the largest and most comprehensive resource in the United Kingdom for research and information on all aspects of architecture.
- Digital Dictionary of Buddhism This link opens in a new windowContains terms from Chinese, Japanese and Korean Buddhism. The dictionary is fully searchable, and the site also includes browsable indices, presentations about the dictionary, and details of contributors.
- The South Asia Archive This link opens in a new windowThe South Asia Archive is a Full-Text Online database that provides a specialist digital platform for historically significant literary material about South Asia.
- Digital HimalayaThe Digital Himalaya project was designed by Professor Alan Macfarlane and Dr Mark Turin as a strategy for archiving and making available valuable ethnographic materials from the Himalayan region.
- Index India [Print]A quarterly documentation list of selected articles, editorials, notes and letters etc. from periodicals and newspapers published in English language all over the world.
Articles / Journals
Print & Electronic Journals @ UBC Library
To find a specific journal, search by Title here:
For a selected list of print journals related to Japanese art, browse the UBC Library Catalogue with the following subject headings, while using the "Subject begins with" or "Subject contains" search options. Here are a few examples:
Select journals related to Central, South and Southeast Asian art and artists:
- Orientations
Online coverage: 2020-Present.
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1 .O74 H6 (1970-1980, 1985-Present). - Artibus Asiae
Online coverage: 1925-2014.
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1 .A75 (1925-Present). - Art and AsiaPacific
Available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N7260 .A77 (2001-Present). - Arts of Asia
Available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N8 .A78 A85 (1971-Present). - Arts Asiatiques
Online coverage: 1954-2018.
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1 .A85 (1954-2019). - Asian art & culture [Former title: Asian Art]
Available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1 .A842 A78 (1994-1996). - Journal of Asian Studies
Online coverage: 1942-Present.
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: DS501 .F2 (1941-1964, 1965-2009). - Archives of Asian art
Online coverage: 2001-Present.
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1 .C4 (1945-2001; 2004-2011). - Art and AsiaPacific almanac
Available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N7260 .A774 (2005-Present). - Oriental Art
Available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1 .O7 (1948-1951, 1955-2013).
Select journals related to art and artists of India:
- Art India
Available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N7304 .A783 (2000-Present). - Mārg̲ = Pathway
Online coverage: 2007-Present.
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1 .M29 (1946-Present). - Lalit kalā
Available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1.L34 K34 (1955-2005). - Lalit Kalā contemporary
Available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1 .L3 (1964- ). - Journal of arts & ideas
Online coverage: 1983-1999.
Also available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: NX1.J67 A77 (1995-1999). - Roopa-lekhā
Available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1 .R57 (1929-1988). - Rupam: an illustrated quarterly journal of Oriental art, chiefly Indian
Available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1 .R8 (1920-1930).
Select journals related to archaeology and anthropology:
- Minerva
Available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library at: N1.M45 L65 (1991-Present). - Anthropological Quarterly
Online coverage: 1953-Present.
Available in print at the Music, Art & Architecture Library (ASRS) at: GN1 .P7 (1928-2003).
Subject Headings & Keywords
Listed below is a selection of art subject headings that can be used for keyword searching in the UBC Library Catalogue.
Click on the links to browse books on specific subjects.
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By general topics in art and architecture: |
By medium or form: |
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By religion: |
By historical period, region, or cultural group: |
Select Books on South/East Asian Art
Highlighted Resources
Between Declarations and Dreams by Call Number: Online / N7311ISBN: 9789810973490Publication Date: 2015
Reworlding Art History: encounters with contemporary Southeast Asian art after 1990 by Call Number: Online / N7311ISBN: 9789042039148Publication Date: 2015
Buddhism illuminated: manuscript art from Southeast Asia by Call Number: N8193.A2 C35 2018ISBN: 9780295743783Publication Date: 2018
Ambitious alignments: new histories of Southeast Asian art, 1945-1990 by Call Number: N7311 .A43 2018ISBN: 9780909952921Publication Date: 2018
Photography in Southeast Asia by Call Number: TR113.S6 Z48 2016ISBN: 9789814722124Publication Date: 2017
Mughal Painters and Their Work by Call Number: ND1337.I5 V475 1994 (Reference)ISBN: 0195623169Publication Date: 1995
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
A dictionary of Hindu architecture by Call Number: NA1502 .A25 1981 (Reference)Publication Date: 1981
Dictionary of Buddhist and Hindu Iconography by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 8124600619Publication Date: 1997
Semiotica Indica: encyclopaedic dictionary of body-language in Indian art & culture by Call Number: NX180.S46 S52 1994 (Reference)ISBN: 9788173050466Publication Date: 1994
Encyclopaedia of Indian iconography: Hinduism-Buddhism-Jainism by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 8170307651Publication Date: 2003
Kalātattvakośa: a lexicon of fundamental concepts of the Indian arts by Call Number: NX576.A1 K345 2001ISBN: 8120810457Publication Date: 2001Encyclopaedia of art, archaeology, and literature in Central India by
Call Number: DS485.C33 S54 1998 (Reference)ISBN: 8173051275Publication Date: 1998
Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture by Call Number: NA6001 .E53 (Reference)ISBN: 0195615379Publication Date: 1983
Bibliographies
Bibliography of Modern Indian Art by Call Number: ZN7304 .G48 1980 (Reference)Publication Date: 1980Painting in South Asia: A Bibliography by
Call Number: ZND1001 .H554 1976 (Reference)Publication Date: 1976
Indra-dhanusa: an annotated bibliography of Indian painting through the ages by Call Number: ZND1001 .N36 1982Publication Date: 1982
Archaeology of the Indian Subcontinent and Sri Lanka by Call Number: DS418 .R53 2001ISBN: 0313300011Publication Date: 2000
Indexes
ABIA: South and Southeast Asian art and archaeology index by Call Number: OnlineISBN: 9789004191488Publication Date: 1996
Directories
All India directory of art, culture & allied centres by Call Number: NX576.A1 C54 1995Publication Date: 1995
Images
- Artstor This link opens in a new windowA digital image library for the arts and sciences with an unparalleled range of images licensed for educational use at UBC.
- Grove Art Online This link opens in a new windowThe foremost scholarly art encyclopedia, covering global art and architecture from prehistory to present day. Peer-reviewed articles are accompanied by images, bibliographies, and links to additional resources.
- Cleveland Museum of Art: Indian and Southeast Asian Art CollectionsThe Indian and Southeast Asian art collection comprises three broad areas: India proper, the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia. The collection covers the period of the entire artistic activity on the Indian subcontinent from the earliest (Neolithic) period until the 20th century.
- The Smithsonian | Freer and Sackler Galleries: Collections: South Asian and HimalayanMore than 1,200 objects from the museums’ South Asian and Himalayan collections illuminate the arts of the subcontinent’s religious traditions and secular courts. The arts of this region include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet; the birthplace of three major religions: Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism.
- University of Chicago: Digital South Asia Library (DSAL)Includes links to online image databases, catalogues, indexes, and other resources.
- The Smithsonian | Freer and Sackler Galleries: Collections: Southeast AsiaComprising close to nine hundred objects, the Freer and Sackler’s Southeast Asia collections range from Buddhist and Hindu sculpture in stone and bronze to gold jewelry and ceramics from Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma).
- The Rubin Museum: Collection of Himalayan ArtThe Rubin Museum’s preeminent collection of Himalayan art includes over 3,800 objects spanning more than 1,500 years to the present day. Included are works from the Tibetan plateau, with examples from related surrounding regions including Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and Mongolia.
- Asian Art Museum, San Francisco: CollectionsHome to one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of Asian art. More than 18,000 awe-inspiring artworks, ranging from ancient jades and ceramics to contemporary video installations.
- Digital HimalayaA project to develop digital collection, storage and distribution strategies for multimedia anthropological information from the Himalayan region.
- World ImagesProvides access to the California State University IMAGE Project. Contains approximately 100,000 images, is global in coverage and includes all areas of visual imagery.
Websites
- Envisioning East Asian Art HistoryResources from the Society for the Promotion of International English-Language Scholarship on East Asian Art History.
- The Rubin Museum: Project Himalayan ArtThis three-part initiative—digital platform, publication, and traveling exhibition—is an interdisciplinary resource for learning about Himalayan, Tibetan, and Inner Asian art and cultures.
- The American Institute of Buddhist Studies at Columbia UniversityFounded in 1972 — at the request of H.H. the Dalai Lama and the late Ven. Geshe Ngawang Wangyal — with the mandate to translate and publish the originally Indian Buddhist artistic, scientific, and religious works collected in the Tibetan Tengyur (bstan 'gyur).
- Critical CollectiveAn initiative by art critic and curator Gayatri Sinha which works towards building knowledge in the arts in India. Includes sections on art history, cinema, lens based practice, and archives.
- South Asian Arts SocietyCommitted to creating performance and educational opportunities for artists, while developing artistic forums that act as a platform for building knowledge of South Asian culture via new projects, new ideas, and new collaborations across the Lower Mainland.
- Oriental Museum @ Durham University (UK)The only museum in the North of England devoted entirely to the art and archaeology of northern Africa and Asia. More than 36,000 objects, ranging in date from prehistory to the present day.
- UNESCO World Heritage CentreEstablished in 1992, the World Heritage Centre is the focal point and coordinator within UNESCO for all matters related to World Heritage.