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Collection Overview

Creator:
Coomaraswamy, Ananda K. (Ananda Kentish), 1877-1947
Title:
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy Papers
Repository:
Manuscripts Division
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/h128nd703
Dates:
1827-1970 (mostly 1917-1947)
Size:
93 boxes
Storage Note:
  • This is stored in multiple locations.
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Boxes 1-40; 42-61; 9A
  • ReCAP (scarcpxm): Box 62-92
  • location_under_review: Box 93
Language:
English

Abstract

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy was a noted art historian and champion of Ceylonese and Indian culture. This collection covers a broad spectrum of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy's work in the fields of art history, philosophy, religion, and social criticism.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

This collection covers a broad spectrum of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy's work in the fields of art history, philosophy, religion, and social criticism. Present in these papers are typescript drafts, proofs, and revised published copies of many of his articles and a few of his books, A New Approach to the Vedas (London: Luzac, 1933), Time and Eternity (Ascona, Switzerland: Artibus Asiae, 1947), Yaksas (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institute, 1928). Many retyped and edited versions of Coomaraswamy's work prepared for the Bollingen Foundation by Dona Luisa Coomaraswamy after her husband's death may be found with the manuscripts, as well as many illustrations which accompany the works that appear in these papers.

In addition, the collection houses an assortment of notebooks, subject files, and loose notes, correspondence (mostly with colleagues and editors), memorabilia including a tribute to Coomaraswamy compiled by S. Durai Raja Singam, a group of photographs and miscellaneous illustrations, a large group of reprints of Coomaraswamy's articles, plus a smaller group of miscellaneous printed material. A significant portion of the collection consists of Dona Luisa Coomaraswamy's writings, notes, and correspondence. Of special interest is Mrs. Coomaraswamy's correspondence with Wallace Brockway and Alvin Moore which details her editorial methods in her work for the Bollingen Foundation.

A large group of photographs documenting Indic temples and artwork and dance from India and Southeast Asia, is also present, along with drawings, clippings, negatives, postcards, and research notes kept throughout Coomaraswamy's tenure at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

There is no Box 41 in the collection.

Collection Creator Biography:

Coomaraswamy, Ananda K. (Ananda Kentish), 1877-1947

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy was a noted art historian and champion of Ceylonese and Indian culture. Born in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), in 1877, Coomaraswamy moved to England in 1879 and attended Wycliffe College, a preparatory school, from the age of 12. In 1900, he graduated from University College, London, with a degree in geology and botany, and in 1906, he received a doctor of science for his study of Ceylonese mineralogy. He served as director of the Mineralogical Survey of Ceylon from 1902 to 1907 before moving to the United States to serve as curator of Indian art at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, where he stayed for the remainder of his life. Coomaraswamy devoted himself to the study of traditional Ceylonese and Indian arts and crafts, the cataloging of Indian art collections, and research on Indian art, religion, metaphysics, and culture. He died in 1947.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Gift of Joel S. Stern, Bollingen Foundation, Dr. S. Durai Raja Singam. Materials in Subseries 6B were transferred from the Department of Art and Archaeology in 2013 (AM 2014-48) and 2021 (AM 2022-047), but are a part of the original papers.

Appraisal

No appraisal information is available.

Processing Information

Biography written by Jessica Marati, '08. Finding aid updated with new additions by Kelly Bolding in December 2013, May 2014, and November 2021.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy Papers; Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/h128nd703
Location:
Firestone Library
One Washington Road
Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
(609) 258-3184
Storage Note:
  • This is stored in multiple locations.
  • Firestone Library (scamss): Boxes 1-40; 42-61; 9A
  • ReCAP (scarcpxm): Box 62-92
  • location_under_review: Box 93