Finding aid for the Harald Ingholt papers relating to Gandharan art, 1897-1985 (bulk 1954-1978) 990054
Milena Golshan
Special Collections
2012
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
Business Number: (310) 440-7390
Fax Number: (310) 440-7780
reference@getty.edu
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections
Title: Harald Ingholt papers relating to Gandharan art
Creator:
Mahar, James Michael
Creator:
Ingholt, Harald, 1896-1985
Identifier/Call Number: 990054
Physical Description:
5.8 Linear Feet
(14 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1897-1985 (bulk 1954-1978)
Date (bulk): 1954-1978
Abstract: The Harald Ingholt papers relating to Gandharan art document one aspect of this Near Eastern archaeologist's broad research
interests. The archive contains production materials, such as a text draft and page layouts, related to
Gandhāran Art in Pakistan, for which Ingholt wrote the text, as well as Inholt's related research materials on Gandharan art. These materials include
hundreds of black-and-white photographs, notes, correspondence, offprints and ephemera. Further material relating to Gandharan
art was added to the archive by James Michael Mahar.
Physical Location: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the
catalog record for this collection. Click here for the
access policy .
Language of Material: Collection material is in English.
Arrangement
The papers are arranged in three series:
Gandhāran Art in Pakistan production materials, circa 1954-1959;
Series II. Research materials on Gandharan art, 1897-1978, undated;
Series III. James Michael Mahar papers, 1953-1985, undated.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Harald Ingholt papers relating to Gandharan art document one aspect of this Near Eastern archaeologist's broad research
interests. Taking its name from the ancient region of Gandhara, which encompassed parts of what are today Pakistan and Afghanistan,
Gandharan art is best known for its stone sculptures which blend Buddhist themes with Classical stylistic elements. Alexander
the Great's occupation of this area in the fourth century B.C. was brief, but it introduced a strain of Classical culture
which hung on tenaciously. Reinforced first by a series of rulers who were culturally influenced by the west and then by the
area's location on a thriving trade route, this Mediterranean artistic strain survived as an undercurrent for centuries, before
re-emerging strongly in Gandharan art of the Kushan Empire during the first to third centuries A.D.
Publication materials for
Gandhāran art in Pakistan form the first series of the archive. Included here are a draft of the text and various phases of plate production for the
project, which joined Ingholt's text to photographs by Islay Lyons. Series II is comprised of Ingholt's general research materials
on Gandharan art, primarily Gandharan sculpture. The bulk of the material is photographic, with limited additions of notes,
letters received, offprints and ephemera.
A small portion of the material in this archive did not originate with Ingholt, but with James Michael Mahar, who held the
archive from circa 1980 to 2009. Most of this material can be clearly identified as Mahar's and forms Series III. Although
it ranges from notes taken in a graduate school class in Eastern art to more recent ephemera, the bulk of the Mahar material
relates to
The Meeting of East and West -- An Exhibition of Gandharan Buddhist Art, held at the University of Arizona in 1977. There is also, however, a scattering of material incorporated into the first
two series, which may have been added by Mahar. These materials, such as the summary of the production materials in Series
I, are distinctive because they are not in Ingholt's handwriting.
Processing History
This collection was initially processed and cataloged by Milena Golshan in 2012 under the supervision of Ann Harrison. In
2013, information received from the donor led to a substantial revision of the finding aid.
Preferred Citation
Harald Ingholt papers relating to Gandharan art, 1897-1985 (bulk 1954-1978), The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, accession
no. 990054
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa990054
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Acquisition Information
Gift of James Michael Mahar. Acquired by the Getty Research Institute in 1999. In 1979 the University of Arizona acquired
the library of Harold Ingholt. After the books were cataloged, this small body of archival material was determined by the
acquisitions librarian to be out of scope and passed on to Professor Mahar in the Near Eastern Studies Department.
Biographical/Historical Note
Harald Ingholt (1896-1985) studied theology as an undergraduate at the University of Copenhagen, from which he also received
his Dr. Phil. in archaeology in 1928 for his work on the sculpture of Palmyra. His first professional position was as an assistant
curator at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (1925-1930), and for part of his tenure he served concurrently as the secretary of the
Carlsbergfondet (1927-1930).
In 1931 Ingholt took up a new teaching post in archaeology at the American University of Beirut, as well as becoming curator
of the university's museum collections. When this position ended in 1937, Ingholt returned to Denmark and taught Hebrew and
the Old Testament at Aarhus University from 1938 to 1941. Ingholt then moved to the United States where he had spent time
as a student studying archaeology at Princeton in 1922. Ingholt joined the Yale University faculty in 1942 as a lecturer and
advanced through the academic ranks until his retirement as a Professor in 1964, holding positions in Classics, Biblical Exegesis
and Archaeology.
Ingholt's curatorial activities also continued at Yale. In 1954, he was involved with the Yale University Art Gallery exhibition,
Palmyrene and Gandharan Sculpture. Ingholt appears to have been led east into the realm of Gandharan art through the element of Parthian influence, his previous
research and publications having traced this element in the sculpture of Palmyra and Hatra. Shortly after this exhibition
Ingholt was approached to write the text accompanying a group of photographs by Islay Lyons, the project which became
Gandhāran Art in Pakistan. Although the book represents Ingholt's main contribution to the study of Gandharan art, he appears to have continued researching
the topic after its publication.
In addition to his curatorial and teaching duties, Ingholt excavated at sites in the Near East including Palmyra (1924, 1925,
1928) and at Hama (1932-1938) where he led the Danish excavations. As well as producing his own numerous publications, Ingholt
took an active editorial role in his field. He founded the journal
Berytus: Archaeological Studies in 1934, and in the early 1970s oversaw Yale's publication of the excavations at Dura Europas.
Publication Rights
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Photographic prints
Sculpture, Gandhara
Art, Gandhara
Buddhist art -- Gandhara (Pakistan and Afghanistan)
Gandhāran Art in Pakistan production materials,
Series I.
circa 1954-1959
Physical Description:
2.7 Linear Feet
(5 boxes)
Scope and Contents note
Materials directly related to the production of
Gandhāran Art in Pakistan (Pantheon Books, 1957) comprise Series I. Included are an annotated typescript of the descriptive catalogue, sets of plate
layouts, galley proofs of plates and a group of photographs that may be an initial image compilation.
Arrangement
The book production materials are arranged by forms of material and by different stages of work on the book production.
box 1, folder 1
Summary of production materials
Scope and Contents
Not in Ingholt's handwriting; added by Mahar(?).
box 1, folder 2-4
Annotated typescript of Descriptive Catalogue text
box 2
Initial layout of photographs for plates
box 3, folder 1-2
Second layout of photographs for plates
Box 4, Box 5
Photo set A
Scope and Contents
Set of mounted black-and-white photographs, identified as Photo Set A. Although housed with the
Gandhāran Art in Pakistan material and included in the summary (box 1, folder 1), the actual material bears a closer resemblance to the photographs
found in Series II. There are no captions on the mounts, but internal evidence from the photographs indicates that many of
the pieces depicted are not in museums in Pakistan.
box 3, folder 5
Miscellaneous photographs
Research materials on Gandharan art, Series II.
1897-1978, undated
Physical Description:
2.9 Linear Feet
(8 boxes)
Scope and Contents note
Series II contains Ingholt's research materials on Gandharan art. A large number of black-and-white photographs form the bulk
of this series, which is further supplemented by notes, a small number of letters received, offprints and ephemera. A limited
amount of documentation relating to the contemporary sculptural production center of Mathura is also interspersed in this
series.
Arrangement
Arranged by type of material.
Photographic documentation,
1963-1976, undated
Scope and Contents
Black-and-white photographic prints and photomechanical prints cut from publications form this group. The material also includes
some loose notes and a few letters received accompanying images. Most photographs are mounted and most mounts have varying
amounts of identifying information.
Box 6, Box 7, Box 8, Box 9, Box 10
box 11, folder 1-4
Notes and ephemera,
1935-1978, undated
Scope and Contents
A small quantity of further notes and letters received not housed with the photographs. Some ephemera may not have been Ingholt's,
but may come from Mahar. Also includes a set of notecards cataloging books on Gandharan art in Ingholt's collection, compiled
by Mahar (?).
box 12, folder 1-5
Offprints,
1897-1961, undated
box 12, folder 6-7
Exhibition and auction catalogs,
1923-1962, undated
Scope and Contents
Several catalogs have images cut out.
James Michael Mahar papers, Series III.
1953-1985, undated
Physical Description:
0.2 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Language of Material:
English.
Scope and Contents note
Series III is comprised of a small quantity of James Michael Mahar's material relating to Gandharan art. Mahar is a Professor
Emeritus in Near Eastern Studies at the University of Arizona, whose work has focused on India and its art. Although it ranges
from notes taken in a graduate school class in Eastern art to more recent ephemera, the bulk of the material relates to
The Meeting of East and West -- An Exhibition of Gandharan Buddhist Art, held at the University of Arizona in 1977 and organized by Mahar and Michael Stein, a professor in the Art History Department.
Correspondence, manuscripts, notes, museum loan forms and receipts, color photographs, negatives and slides relating to the
exhibition are included here, as well as associated teaching and conference items.
Arrangement
Arranged by type of material.
box 13, folder 1
Notebook,
1953-1954
Language of Material:
English.
Gandharan art exhibitions,
1977-1981
Language of Material:
English.
box 13, folder 2
Notes, documentation, letters received
box 14, folder 2
Color photographs, slides and negatives
box 13, folder 3
Asian Studies on the Pacific Coast conference presentation,
1977-1978
box 13, folder 4
Miscellaneous,
1973-1985, undated
