Southeast Asian Art Archive, 1940-2006 (majority within 1940-1972, 1952-2000, 1974-2006)

Summary

Creator:

University of Michigan Visual Resources Collections

Abstract:

The Southeast Asian Art Archive is composed of seven collections, including the Southeast Asia Art Foundation Archive (SAAF), the Breezewood Collection, the Ajanta Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Indian Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Collection, the Borobudur Collection, and the American Council for Southeast Asian Art (ACSAA) Collection. The collection contains photographs and slides of Southeast Asian monuments, sculptures, Indian rock-cut architecture, and more.

Extent:

280.5 linear feet

Authors:

Collection processed and finding aid created by Erin Platte, November 2014

Background

Scope and Content:

The Southeast Asian Art Archive is composed of seven smaller collections, including the Southeast Asia Art Foundation Archive, the Breezewood Collection, the Ajanta Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Indian Caves Collection, the Walter Spink Collection, the Borobudur Collection, and the American Council for Southeast Asian Art Collection (ACSAA). The Southeast Asia Art Foundation Archive contains photographs, collected by John Adams Thierry, that document sculptures, monuments, and archaeological sites in Cambodia, Java, and Thailand. Many of these sculptures and monuments were vandalized, damaged, insensitively restored, or destroyed. The Breezewood Collection focuses on the art and architecture of Thailand, but also includes examples of sculptures, decorative arts, ceramics, and paintings from Burma, Cambodia, India, and Indonesia. The Ajanta Caves Collection contains the research work of Walter Spink and photographically documents 29 of the 31 rock-cut caves. The photographs range from panoramic views of the Ajanta complex to detailed photographs of the façades, porches, courts, shrines, and interiors. The Walter Spink Indian Caves Collection further documents the research of Walter Spink by looking at rock-cut architecture of other caves throughout India, including Aurangabad, Badami, Bagh, Bedse, Bhaja, Elephanta, Ellora, Kanheri, and others. The Walter Spink Collection contains additional research of the rock-cut architecture of temples, shrines, and monuments throughout India. The Borobudur Collection documents the Buddhist monument of Borobudur, found in Central Java, in detail. The last collection is the American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) Slide Distribution Collection. This collection contains a wide array of materials depicting Southern Asian art and architecture.

Biographical / Historical:

The Southeast Asian Art Archive is composed of seven smaller collections which document the art and architecture of India, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Burma. The bulk of the materials are from between 1950 and 2000, but some of the materials date to the 1940's, while others date as late as 2006. The collection is composed largely of photographs and slides, but also includes articles, books, microfiches, and transparencies. Dr. Walter Spink was a professor of art history at the University of Michigan between 1970 and 2000. Spink also served as the director of the Asian Art Archives at Michigan between 1962 and 1996. He donated the photographs from his research of Indian rock-cut architecture to the Southeast Asian Art Archives upon his retirement. Spink also served as the president of the American Council for Southern Asian Art at the time of the establishment of the slide distribution project and arranged for the main collection of ACSAA to be housed at the University of Michigan. The growing Asian Art Archives and the art history professors at the University of Michigan also drew the attention of John Adams Thierry and eventually he gifted his collection to the University of Michigan, furthering expanding and increasing the scholarly value of the Southeast Asian Art Archives.

Arrangement:

The Southeast Asian Art Archive (SAAA) is composed of:

• Series I: The Southeast Asia Art Foundation (SAAF) Archive
• Series II: The Breezewood Collection
• Series III: The Ajanta Caves Collection
• Series IV: The Walter Spink Indian Caves Collection
• Series V: The Walter Spink Collection
• Series VI: The Borobudur Collection
• Series VII: The American Council for Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) Slide Distribution Collection

Related

Additional Descriptive Data:

Related Materials

The Southeast Asian Art Archive (SAAA) is composed of:

• The Southeast Asia Art Foundation (SAAF) Archive
• The Breezewood Collection
• The Ajanta Caves Collection
• The Walter Spink Indian Caves Collection
• The Walter Spink Collection
• The Borobudur Collection
• The American Council on Southern Asian Art (ACSAA) Slide Distribution Collection

Bibliography

For references please see the individual finding aids.

Alternative Form Available:

Some of the materials have been digitized. For the digitized materials, please consult the individual collections' finding aids.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Art--Afghanistan.
Art, Baroque.
Art--Burma.
Art--Cambodia.
Art, Cham.
Art--Himalaya Mountains Region.
Art--India.
Art--Indonesia.
Art--Java.
Art--Laos.
Art, Mogul.
Art--Nepal.
Art--Pakistan.
Art--Sri Lanka.
Art, Sukhothai.
Art--Thailand.
Art--Tibet.
Art--Vietnam.
Buddhism.
Buddhist art.
Griswold, Alexander B.--Art collections--Catalogs.
Hindu art.
Hinduism.
Jainism.
Rock-cut architecture--India.
Thierry, John Adams, 1913---Art collections.

Formats:

Aerial photographs.
Articles.
Black-and-white prints.
Black-and-white photographs.
Books.
Microfiches.
Photographs.
Slides.
Transparencies.

Names:

American Council for Southern Asian Art .
Griswold, Alexander B., 1907-1991.
Spink, Walter M., 1928-.
Thierry, John Adams, 1913- 2006.
Vasant, Suresh, 1934-2012.

Places:

Afghanistan.
Burma.
Cambodia.
India.
Indonesia.
Laos.
Nepal.
Pakistan.
Sri Lanka.
Thailand.
Tibet.
Vietnam.