• Auspicious Color: In Hindu and Buddhist traditions, red (rakta) is the color of life-force, preservation, and the sun.
• The “Corcoran” Match: Interestingly, the Corcoran Gallery of Art—the original home of your book was known for its “grand” interior style. A deep red library-bound volume would have fit perfectly within the classical, scholarly aesthetic of the Corcoran’s research wing.
• While this volume was published in 1984, its importance has only grown. Many of the works once held privately in the Kronos Collection are now the crown jewels of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s permanent galleries. In the decades since, similar Pala-period masterworks have reached values exceeding $1 million at auction, making this ‘Corcoran Library’ reference an essential record of a collection that is now effectively priceless.
• Following the Corcoran’s historic dissolution in 2014, this copy was officially deaccessioned and withdrawn from the permanent collection. It now serves as a bridge between three great legacies: the scholarly curation of Martin Lerner, the world-class connoisseurship of the Kronos Collection, and the 150-year history of the Corcoran Gallery.

The Flame & The Lotus By Martin Lerner

Institutional Reference Copy: The Flame and the Lotus” – Buddhist Art

This hardcover Museum Edition was produced by the Metropolitan Museum of Art specifically for durability and scholarly use. Bound in heavy library-grade cloth, this specific volume served as a primary reference in the Corcoran Gallery of Art Library in Washington, D.C.

While the decorative dust jacket is no longer present—as was common practice for volumes prepared for active curatorial use—the cloth binding remains sturdy, and the internal plates are in excellent condition. This is a true ‘working copy’ from one of the most storied art archives in America. Title and author stamped in gold gilt along the spine

In the 1980s, the Metropolitan Museum of Art often produced a limited run of their catalogs in a “Library Binding” or a “Special Museum Edition” using high-quality red buckram.

This deep red color was intended to match the prestige of the subject matter—Indian and Southeast Asian art where red often symbolizes power, auspiciousness, and the “Flame” mentioned in the title.

Met Museum’s original 1984 press release

The exhibition, titled “The Flame and the Lotus,” ran from September 20, 1984, to March 3, 1985. It was a major cultural event in New York, as it marked the first time the public saw the “Kronos Collections” in such a comprehensive setting. (There are faint pencil markings on the Publisher page one on top of the page with 1984 and at the bottom of the page with the date 9-1-85

The Original Curatorial Vision: In the opening announcement, the museum described the collection as a “rare opportunity to view Indian and Southeast Asian art of the highest aesthetic quality.” Martin Lerner’s goal was not just to show old objects, but to show the spiritual fire (The Flame) and the divine purity (The Lotus) that connected the different cultures of the East.

The deep red cloth of this hardcover edition was a deliberate choice for this specific publication.

• Auspicious Color: In Hindu and Buddhist traditions, red (rakta) is the color of life-force, preservation, and the sun.
• The “Corcoran” Match: Interestingly, the Corcoran Gallery of Art—the original home of your book was known for its “grand” interior style. A deep red library-bound volume would have fit perfectly within the classical, scholarly aesthetic of the Corcoran’s research wing.
• While this volume was published in 1984, its importance has only grown. Many of the works once held privately in the Kronos Collection are now the crown jewels of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s permanent galleries. In the decades since, similar Pala-period masterworks have reached values exceeding $1 million at auction, making this ‘Corcoran Library’ reference an essential record of a collection that is now effectively priceless.
• Following the Corcoran’s historic dissolution in 2014, this copy was officially deaccessioned and withdrawn from the permanent collection. It now serves as a bridge between three great legacies: the scholarly curation of Martin Lerner, the world-class connoisseurship of the Kronos Collection, and the 150-year history of the Corcoran Gallery.