Bruno Dagens (born 1935) is a French archaeologist, art historian,
Sanskritist, and a specialist on
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat (; km, អង្គរវត្ត, "City/Capital of Temples") is a temple complex in Cambodia and is the largest religious monument in the world, on a site measuring . Originally constructed as a Hinduism, Hindu temple dedicated ...
.
He is currently a professor emeritus of the
University of Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3
The New Sorbonne University (french: Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, also known as Paris III) is a public university in Paris, France. It is one of the inheritors of the historic University of Paris, which was completely overhauled and rest ...
.
Career
Dagens began to study archaeology in his early years in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, influenced by
Daniel Schlumberger
Daniel Théodore Schlumberger (19 December 1904 – 21 October 1972) was a French archaeologist and Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Strasbourg and later Princeton University.
Biography
After having been invited by ...
.
After his graduation in history and archaeology, as well as
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
, he performed various internships with the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan. From 1957 to 1964, he participated in the excavations at
Mundigak
Mundigak ( ps, منډیګک) is an archaeological site in Kandahar province in Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at ...
and
Surkh Kotal and carried out research on the so-called
Greco-Buddhist art
The Greco-Buddhist art or Gandhara art of the north Indian subcontinent is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between Ancient Greek art and Buddhism. It had mainly evolved in the ancient region of Gandhara.
The s ...
(
Hadda and
Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...
). In 1964, he undertook the translation of ''Mayamata'', a Sanskrit treatise on architecture. He obtained the
CAPES of history and geography and taught from 1964 to 1965 in
Obernai
Obernai ( Alsatian: ''Owernah''; german: Oberehnheim) commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains.
Obernai is a rapidly growing city, its number of inhabitants havin ...
. Then he was seconded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an expert for the
Angkor
Angkor ( km, អង្គរ , 'Capital city'), also known as Yasodharapura ( km, យសោធរបុរៈ; sa, यशोधरपुर),Headly, Robert K.; Chhor, Kylin; Lim, Lam Kheng; Kheang, Lim Hak; Chun, Chen. 1977. ''Cambodian-Engl ...
Conservation from 1965 to 1969.
He joined the
École française d'Extrême-Orient
The French School of the Far East (french: École française d'Extrême-Orient, ), abbreviated EFEO, is an associated college of PSL University dedicated to the study of Asian societies. It was founded in 1900 with headquarters in Hanoi in wh ...
(EFEO) in 1969, and remained in office for three years in
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, while carrying out parallel missions in India (
Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...
, 1969 and 1972), Thailand (
Phimai
Phimai ( th, พิมาย) is a township (''thesaban tambon'') in Nakhon Ratchasima Province in northeast Thailand. As of 2005 the town had a population of 9,768. The town is the administrative center of the Phimai District.
In the aftermath ...
, 1969) and Laos (
Vat Phou, 1969).
In Cambodia, Dagens conducted scientific activity in three topics: research on the iconography and architecture of monuments of the
Angkorian period accompanied by systematic surveys; research on statuary, centered on the elaboration of a detailed catalogue of the Buddhist pieces from the sculpture depot of the Angkor Conservation; philological work on ''Mayamata'', completed by monumental studies in Cambodia and India (
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
and
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
).
From 1972 to 1977, he had been a lecturer at the
Université catholique de Louvain
The Université catholique de Louvain (also known as the Catholic University of Louvain, the English translation of its French name, and the University of Louvain, its official English name) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It ...
and regularly travelled to Pondicherry. In October 1977, he was appointed director of the
Indology
Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the History of India, history and Culture of India, cultures, Languages of South Asia, languages, and Indian literature, literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a ...
section at the
French Institute of Pondicherry
The French Institute of Pondicherry (french: Institut français de Pondichéry) UMIFRE 21 is a French research centre in Puducherry, India, under the joint supervision of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the French National Centre ...
. During the period 1972 to 1986, his research focused on the texts and monuments of South India. He spent nine years in Pondicherry to study
Shaivite
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...
temples and scriptures.
In 1986, he became Professor of Ancient History and Archaeology of South and Southeast Asia at the University of Paris III and has remained in that position since. He is also the director of the and responsible for EFEO programmes. His monograph (
collection
Collection or Collections may refer to:
* Cash collection, the function of an accounts receivable department
* Collection (church), money donated by the congregation during a church service
* Collection agency, agency to collect cash
* Collectio ...
"
Découvertes Gallimard
(, ; in United Kingdom: ''New Horizons'', in United States: ''Abrams Discoveries'') is an editorial collection of illustrated monographic books published by the Éditions Gallimard in pocket format. The books are concise introductions to pa ...
", 1989) was published as ''
Angkor: Heart of an Asian Empire'' in 1995, and has been adapted into a documentary film with the same title in 2002, as part of ''
The Human Adventure''. He has also done work dealing with the Khmer and the Indian temple – ''The Indian Temple: Mirror of the World'', originally published in French in 2009.
Selected publications
* ''Angkor : La forêt de pierre'', coll. «
Découvertes Gallimard
(, ; in United Kingdom: ''New Horizons'', in United States: ''Abrams Discoveries'') is an editorial collection of illustrated monographic books published by the Éditions Gallimard in pocket format. The books are concise introductions to pa ...
» (nº 64), série Archéologie. Éditions Gallimard, 1989
** US edition – ''
Angkor: Heart of an Asian Empire'', "
Abrams Discoveries Abrams may refer to:
* Abrams (surname), a list of notable people with the surname
* '' Abrams v. United States'', 250 U.S. 616 (1919), U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding free speech during times of war
* M1 Abrams, main battle tank
* Abrams, Wi ...
" series. Harry N. Abrams, 1995
** UK edition – ''Angkor: Heart of an Asian Empire'', ‘
New Horizons
''New Horizons'' is an Interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary space probe that was launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research ...
’ series. Thames & Hudson, 1995
* ''Les Khmers'', coll. « Guides Belles Lettres des civilisations » (nº 10). Les Belles Lettres, 2003
* With Marie-Luce Barazer-Billoret, ''Shiva : Libérateur des âmes et Maître des dieux'', coll. « Découvertes Gallimard » (nº 450), série Religions. Éditions Gallimard, 2004
* ''Le Temple indien : Miroir du monde'', coll. « Réalia » (nº 21). Les Belles Lettres, 2009
** ''The Indian Temple: Mirror of the World'', New Age Books and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, 2016
* With Marie-Luce Barazer-Billoret, ''Shiva'', coll. « Albums Beaux Livres », Éditions Gallimard, 2013
; Translation
*
Mayamuni, ''Mayamata : Traité Sanskrit d'Architecture'', Institut Français d'Indologie, 1970
** ''Mayamata: An Indian Treatise on Housing Architecture and Iconography'', Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Scientific Research, 1985 (an updated edition published in 2017 by New Age Books)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dagens, Bruno
1935 births
Living people
French archaeologists
French art historians
French Sanskrit scholars