Fredrick Bunce
Brief Biography
Having taught at Tulsa University, St. Olaf College and South Dakota State
University, Professor Bunce came to Indiana State University in 1980 as
Chairperson of the Department of Art and retired in 1997. At that time he
donated his collection of erotic literature and publications to the
Cunningham Memorial Library, Special Collections Department. Professor
Bunce, moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he lives and continues his
scholarly activities.
Professor Bunce began his collection while working on his Ph.D. in
Comparative Arts at Ohio University (1966-1968). His dissertation, The Parallel Forms of Erotic Painting and Poetry in the
Sixteenth Century French Court, dealt with
the iconography of Pietro Aretino's I Sonetti Lussuriosi, and became the impetus for his collecting. He modestly enlarged the collection and
focused on limited editions of the early Twentieth Century, especially the
Carrington Press and others of similar scope.
Iconography had been and still is the focus of his scholarly interests. In
1986 it took a sabbatical in Asia. There he purchased a number of
Tibeto-Nepali thangkas which opened new doors for him. He returned to Asia
(Malaysia, Thailand and Nepal) nearly every year until his retirement,
expanding his knowledge of first Vajrayana Buddhist iconography, then Hindu,
and finally Islamic iconography.
From the iconography of painting and sculpture, Professor Bunce has ventured
into the iconography of architectural plans. To date his publications
include:
- An Encyclopaedia of Buddhist Deities, Demigods, Godlings and Demons:
With Special Focus on Iconographic Attributes, 1993.
- A Dictionary of Buddhist and Hindu Iconography, 1995.
- An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Deities, Demigods, Godlings, Demons and
Herpes: With Special Focus on Iconographic Attributes, 1998.
- The Yantras of Deities and Their Numerological Foundations: An
Iconographic Consideration, 2001.
- Numbers: Their Iconographic consideration in Buddhist and Hindu
Practice, 2002.
- The Tibetan Iconography of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and other Deities: A
Unique Pantheon," 2002. Co-authored with Lokesh Chandra.
"The Iconography of Architectural Plans: A Study of the Influence of
Buddhism and Hinduism on the Plans of South and Southeast Asia," 2002.
- Islamic Tombs in India: The Iconography and Genesis of Their Design,
2004.
- Buddhist Textiles of Laos, Lan Na and the Isan: The Iconography of
Design Elements, 2004.
- Mudras in Buddhist and Hindu Practice: An Iconographic Consideration,
2005.
- Royal Palaces, Residences and Pavilions of India--13th through 18th
Centuries: An Iconographic Consideration. Forthcoming.
