Granite statue of Parvati, Chola period 1100 AD, South India (private collection)
Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Dr. Peter de Bruijn lives in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He studied and worked at the Kern Institute at Leiden University in The Netherlands, one of Europe's centers of expertise for South Asia and the Himalayan region. He studied the arts and material culture of South and Southeast Asia including the languages (epigraphical) Tamil and Sanskrit. He executed extensive field research in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia on the relation between Indian and Khmer iconography. He worked on the ABIA project, a global network of scholars co-operating on an annotated bibliographic database for publishers covering South and Southeast Asian art and archaeology. The project receives scientific support from UNESCO. Dr. Bruijn is a specialist for Hindu and Buddhist art from this region and mainly focuses on South Indian, Sri Lankan, and Khmer art (800-1300 AD). His main interest is the iconography and styles of South Indian bronzes and Khmer sculptures.
During his work for the Kern Institute and The British Museum in London, Dr. Bruijn developed an interest in selling and appraising art. He created the Dhyani Asian Arts Gallery in 1995 from a private collection of fine South and Southeastern Asian art pieces.
He is also the founder of the Asian Arts Consultancy, a Netherlands based company that developed out of a relationship between a South-Southeastern Asian art historian interested in financial planning and a financial planner interested in Asian art, and vice versa. In the process, the collection of Asian art is combined with "traditional" financial planning. The Asian Arts Consultancy set up an international network with many financial firms and art collectors within and outside of Europe.
He wrote several articles and books on South and Southeast Asian Art which include:
. 'De Boeddha met de gouden ushnisha', Aziatische Kunst, 28, Nr. 2, Amsterdam 1998. (in Dutch)
. 'Maskers uit Sri Lanka', Aziatische Kunst, 28, Nr. 4, Amsterdam 1998. (in Dutch)
. Several annotations in: ABIA South and Southeast Asian Art and Archaeology Index, edited by prof.dr Karel R. van Kooij, Kegan Paul, London 1999
. 'Vishvarupa Vishnu uit Changu Narayana', Aziatische Kunst, 29, Nr. 1, Amsterdam 1999, (with Anna Slaczka). (in Dutch)
. 'Hindoe kunst in Nederland', OHM-Vani, april - juni Amsterdam 2000 (in Dutch)
. 'Karaikkalammaiyar', Aziatische Kunst, 30, Nr. 2, Amsterdam 2000 (in Dutch)
. Karaikkalammaiyar: an iconographical and textual study. Rotterdam 2007, 148 pp., 19 colour plates, 13 B/W plates, ISBN 978-90-811564-1-7
. Poems for Siva: illustrated with masterpieces of Hindu art. Rotterdam 2007, 106 pp., 22 colour plates, 16 B/W plates, ISBN 978-90-811564-2-4
. Visvakarman. Rotterdam 2007, A selection of South- and Southeast Asian art. (in Dutch). 75 pp., 35 B/W plates, ISBN 978-90-811564-3-1
. The Nalanda Gedige in Sri Lanka, in progress. A description of the Nalanda temple in Sri Lanka. Expected July 2008.
Indian Street Scene by M. H. Neill, India, 1920's, Pastel on canvas
Expertise: Hindu and Buddhist art. |
