The Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh, also known as Chandigarh Museum, was photo-documented by the AIIS Center for Art and Archaeology in June 1981. The Museum’s famous collection of Gandharan sculptures along with other significant sculptures on display at that time covered in the documentation are presented here as high-quality digital images for academic use. To know more about the Chandigarh Museum please visit their official website http://chdmuseum.gov.in.

Building stepped-wells especially in arid regions was a common practice in the Indian subcontinent. Made available now on the Virtual Museum of Images and Sounds (VMIS) under CAA/Collections/Monuments/Photography, the photographs of stepped-wells and tanks were created by the CA&A's documentation team over a period of 50 plus years while documenting temples and other building complexes at historical sites for its various projects. A travelling exhibition on stepped wells and reservoirs was also mounted recently making use of the archival photographs from this collection, which is currently travelling in Gujarat. Related drawings, publications and 360 walkthrough of the iconic stepped well Ranki Vav (Queen's Stepped Well), Patan, Gujarat by the CA&A are also available on the VMIS.

This exhibition of photographs introduces the temple architecture, sculpture and bronzes created during the rule of the Chola dynasty in South India, from the late 9th to the late 11th century, a period of about two hundred years.

The AIIS Center for Art & Archaeology (CA&A) is an international leader in the documentation of Indic art and architecture. This section consists of photographs of monuments documented by the CA&A staff since 1966. The photographs are grouped here in alphabetical order in accordance with the site name.

Padmabhushan Professor Madhusudan Amilal Dhaky, internationally renowned historian of temple art and architecture, was Director Emeritus, Center for Art and Archaeology, the American Institute of Indian Studies, Gurugram. Dhaky was born on 31st July 1927 in Porbandar, Gujarat. He graduated in science but his interest lied in Indology. He changed his profession frequently after graduation, from banking to agriculture, but finally settled in the field of archaeology after joining the Gujarat Directorate of Archaeology and Museums as Director. Throughout, while in various professions, exploring and documenting temple architecture was his favourite pursuit. His image archives were formed between 1950-1966, before and during his tenure with the archaeology department. He joined American Academy of Benares (AAB) in 1966 which was later renamed as the Center for Art and Archaeology and merged with the American Institute of Indian Studies. Some of his negatives are marked with the year 1972, which indicates he continued photography for a while even during his service with the AIIS when a documentation team was at his disposal. While working with the AIIS he guided documentation and research, formulated and initiated the monumental project, Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture, fourteen volumes of which are published by the AIIS. The largest section of the AIIS, CA&A Photo-archives documenting monuments and museum objects was created under the direction of M.A. Dhaky. The world of Indian art history lost one of its greatest scholars with the passing away of Dhaky on 29th July 2016. He had gifted all his images to the CA&A during his lifetime and Snehal Shah, architect who is the caretaker of Dhaky’s belongings, shared his negatives with the Center after his demise.

Ashwin Jain is an engineer by training. He started photography as a hobby that has now become a passion. His profession often takes him to places never traveled or touched by masses. The photographs of historical sites by Ashwin are results of his explorations of such sites in his free time and also his interest in recording marvels of Indian art. The photographs of 'Udayagiri-Khandagiri caves' in Odisha are also drawn from his image collection of historical sites from India. His earlier documentation already posted on the website of Virtual Museum of Images and Sounds (VMIS) includes monuments in Konark and Kiradu. Check out the link http://vmis.in/ArchiveCategories/collection_by_category/227 to view image collection of Ashwin Jain on VMIS.

Ashwin Jain is an engineer by training. He started photography as a hobby that has now become a passion. His profession often takes him to places never traveled or touched by masses. The photographs of 'Temples in Kiradu' located in Barmer district of Rajasthan are drawn from his recently created image collection of historical sites of Rajasthan. His earlier documentation includes monuments in Konark which he has already shared with the Virtual Museum of Images and Sounds. The photographs of historical sites by Ashwin are results of his explorations of such sites in his free time and also his interest in recording marvels of Indian art.

The Indian Baroque architecture style emerged in wake of colonial presence in the subcontinent, due to interactions between Neo-Roman style European architecture and Indian styles. The study and documentation of Baroque Architecture of India was undertaken by Professor Jose Pereira during 1967-1969 for the American Academy of Benares, now the Center for Art and Archaeology of American Institute of Indian Studies. He visited areas in India where the Neo-Roman monuments are found accompanied by the Academy’s photographer Dharampal Nanda. The project covered Neo-Roman or Baroque Architecture of Goa, Daman, Diu, Kerala, Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu. The photographs are preserved in Photo-archives of the Center for Art and Archaeology, Gurgaon.