Rubin Museum of Art

Gateway to Himalayan Art

Chakrasamvara with Consort Vajravarahi; Kham province, eastern Tibet; 19th century; Pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; Gift of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation; F1997.7.2 (HAR 99)

Gateway to Himalayan Art is a traveling exhibition for colleges, universities, and art museums that introduces the main forms, concepts, meanings, and living traditions of Himalayan art. It is part of the Rubin’s flagship educational initiative Project Himalayan Art: a resource that aims to support the inclusion of Tibetan, Himalayan, and Inner Asian art and cultures into undergraduate teaching on Asia as well as present Himalayan art to the general public.

Bodhisattvas Maitreya and Manjushri in Tushita Pure Realm

Tibet
early 20th century

Collection record
Chakrasamvara with Consort Vajravarahi

Kham Province, Eastern Tibet
19th century

Collection record
Tara, as a Great Yogini, After a Set of Paintings “Twenty-seven Tantric Deities” designed by Situ Panchen (1700-1774)

Kham Province, Eastern Tibet
19th century

Collection record
Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye (1813-1899)

Eastern Tibet
early 20th century

Collection record
The Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobzang Gyatso (1617-1682) with Previous Incarnations

Central Tibet
18th century

Collection record
Indrabhuti, from a set of the Eight Great Adepts (Mahasiddhas)

Eastern Tibet, Kham Province
19th century

Collection record
Mold for Clay Image (tsatsa) of Buddha Amitayus

Himalayan Region
ca. 19th century

Collection record
Mold for Clay Image (tsatsa) of Vajrapani

Himalayan Region
ca. 19th century

Collection record
Woodblock for Printing Prayer Flags

Himalayan Region
ca. 19th–early 20th century

Collection record
Woodblock for Printing Tibetan Text

Himalayan Region
ca. 18th–19th century

Collection record
Frontispiece from The Great Destroyer of the Thousand Foes (Mahasahasrapramardani) Sutra Manuscript

Tibet
ca. 13th-14th century

Collection record
Illuminated Manuscript Page Depicting Four Forms of Mahakala and Vaishravana

China
17th century

Collection record
Vairochana, from a Set of Initiation Cards (Tsakali)

Tibet
ca. 14th century

Collection record
Ratnasambhava, from a Set of Initiation Cards (Tsakali)

Tibet
ca. 14th century

Collection record
Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyelsten (1182-1251) (After Choying Gyatso’s (active ca.1640s-1660s) set of previous incarnations of the Panchen Lamas)

Tsang Province, Central Tibet
18th century

Collection record
Buddha's Birth, from a set of the Twelve Deeds of the Buddha

Eastern Tibet, Kham Province, Derge Printing House
after 1960

Collection record
Birth of the Buddha, from a set of the Twelve Deeds of the Buddha, after a carved woodblock composition attributed to Purbu Tsering of Chamdo (active ca. late 19th century)

Tibet
20th century

Collection record
Ushnisavijaya and Celebration of Old Age (Jyatha Janko)

Nepal
19th century

Collection record
Medicine Buddha Palace (Copy of first painting from the set of the Tibetan Medical Paintings from Mentsikhang Lhasa)

Rebgong county, Qinghai Province, China
2012-2013

Collection record
Medical Painting of Minor Connecting Blood Vessels or Capillaries, illustration to the Medical treatise the Blue Beryl, chapter 4

Tibet
18th century

Collection record
Medical Painting on Prophylactics, Diagnosis, and Therapeutic Principles, illustration to the Medical treatise the Blue Beryl, chapters 23-28

Central Tibet
19th century

Collection record
Vajrabhairava with Consort Vajravetali

China
second half of the 15th century

Collection record
Padmasambhava and His Eight Manifestations

Kham Province, Eastern Tibet
19th century

Collection record
Temple Banner with Seven Symbols of Royal Power and Offerings

Tibet
19th century

Collection record
Golden case with silver implements below.
Medical instruments

Medical instruments; 18th-19th century; metal; LTL2022.2.1.a-i; long-term loan from Eugene and Leonid Lantsman

Four images showing progress of painting of bodhisattva from drawing on left to finished painting on right.
Avalokiteshvara

Avalokiteshvara; 2022; Pigments on cotton, silk brocade; Rubin Museum of Art, SC2022.1-.4

Glass vitrine displaying Buddhist sculptures and photographs.
The Stages of Nepalese Lost-Wax Metal Casting

The Stages of Nepalese Lost-Wax Metal Casting; Nepal; 2022; wax, clay, metal alloy; SC2022.2.1–.6; Rubin Museum of Art; Photos by Ryan Hulvat, Courtesy of Lehigh University Art Galleries, 2023, and Sharif Hassan

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