Naman Ahuja

Naman P. Ahuja (born 1976) is an Art Historian and Curator based in New Delhi. Presently, He is an Associate Professor of Ancient Indian Art and Architecture in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi where his research and graduate teaching focus on Indian iconography and sculpture, temple architecture and Sultanate period painting. He has curated several exhibitions most notably The Body in Indian Art and Thought and published books on different themes. He is an academic who creates a work of art as he teaches it.^[1]

Early life

He has done his Ph.D. in Art History from London University.^[1]

Career

As Professor

Naman has held Visiting Professorships and Fellowships at Zurich, Oxford, the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence and Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. He was lecturer of the MA program on the Religious Fine and Decorative Arts of India at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies, London University) from 1998 to 2000 and Tutor of the SOAS / Christie's and latterly the British Museum's Diploma in Indian Art. Currently he teaches at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. ^[1][1]

Curator

He has curated several exhibitions in India and abroad on themes ranging from ancient to contemporary art. From 2001 to 2002 he was Curator of Indian sculpture in the Department of Oriental Antiquities at the British Museum, London and the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. His most recent exhibition was The Body in Indian Art and Thought which was held at Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels and National Museum, New Delhi^[1]

Views

On March 18, 2012 at the convention “Collecting Ancient Art in the 21st Century", Naman said that in many countries modern development proved as serious a threat to archaeologist sites as looting. It was imperative for collectors to engage with the views of archaeologists. He challenged collector groups to find ways to help source countries stop looting, not just defend American’s right to collect. ^[2]

Publication

Some of his publications include the following books:

• The Making of the Modern Indian Artist Craftsman: Devi Prasad,Routledge, 2011
• Changing Gods, Enduring Rituals: Observations on Early Indian Religion as seen through Terracotta Imagery c. 200 BC - 200 AD in South Asian Archaeology, Paris, 2001
• Divine Presence, The Arts of India and the Himalayas, Five Continents Editions, Milan, 2003 in English, Catalan and Spanish and
• The Body in Indian Art and Thought, Ludion, Belgium, 2013 in English, French and Dutch

^[3]

References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "The Anarchist Academic". 24 January 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2014. 
2. ↑ "At Asia Society, Antiquities Collectors Describe "Climate of Fear"". Chasing Aphrodite. March 23, 2012. Retrieved 2014-04-12. 
3. ↑ "Author". Sage. Retrieved 2014-04-12.