Mary Slusser's work on the history of the art and culture of Nepal is marked by a series of discoveries and critical reassessments that have advanced our comprehension of this extraordinarily rich culture and art in a revolutionary way. In The Antiquity of Nepalese Wood Carving, Dr. Slusser drastically revises our perception of the marvelous wooden sculpture of the Kathmandu Valley.

Previously considered to be no earlier than the thirteenth century, the earliest of these wooden masterpieces have now been clearly demonstrated to date from the sixth or seventh century, the time...