- The artworks represent top examples acquired and retained over the
course of a long career- Each ranks high in terms of aesthetics and
desirability- Top quality photography and cutting-edge book designThis
book presents a personal collection of ancestor sculpture and protective
deities, following the ancient migratory and trade routes of the
Austronesian, Southeast Asian Bronze Age, and Hindu-Buddhist peoples.
The author, Thomas Murray, has spent a lifetime studying this art
through his endeavors as a peripatetic dealer, collector, and field
researcher. The objects illustrated come from a swath of widely varied
cultures from Nepal eastward to Hawaii, with the overwhelming majority
from Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Murray's eye is highly informed and
based on an unusually large sampling of objects to which his experience
and research have exposed him. The artworks documented represent some of
the top examples he has acquired and retained over the course of a long
career. They are characterized by sculptural balance and a harmony of
line, as well as a rare quality of expressiveness. Each ranks high in
terms of aesthetics and desirability within its own particular style as
perceived by the art market and by other western aficionados.