Kipper Lecture: The Thief Who Stole My Heart - The Material Life of Sacred Bronzes from Chola India

Vidya Dehejia, professor of Indian and South Asian Art at Columbia University, discusses her book, The Thief Who Stole My Heart: The Material Life of Sacred Bronzes from Chola India, 855-1280.
This program was made possible by the Barbara and David Kipper South Asian Lecture Series.
About the speaker: Vidya Dehejia is the Barbara Stoler Miller Professor Emerita of Indian and South Asian Art at Columbia University. In the course of her career, she has combined research with teaching and exhibition-related activities around the world. Extensive field travel in South Asia, with visits to sites of importance in Southeast Asia, has given her first hand familiarity with the art of the region. Her background in classical Sanskrit and Tamil, and knowledge of a range of modern Indian languages has proved invaluable. Her writings have incorporated translations of ancient poetry, and material from unpublished manuscripts, in order to illuminate an artistic milieu. She has explored at length the theoretical basis for the portrayal of visual narratives in the context of India’s sculpture and painting, and has examined issues of gender and colonialism. Over time, she has worked on early Buddhist art, the esoteric temples of North India, sacred bronzes of the South, and the art of British India. Management and curatorial experience at the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries provided broader scope to convey the excitement of her field to non-specialist audiences. In 2012, the President of India awarded her a Padma Bhushan for “Outstanding Contribution to Art & Education.”