The story of Himalayan art is illuminated through 108 significant objects from the Neolithic era to today. Paintings, sculptures, drawings, textiles, and architectural structures are brought to life with essays, photographs, interactive maps, and videos for a sweeping journey through the traditions, rituals, social practices, and art of the Himalayan regions, with an emphasis on cross-cultural exchange.
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A Window onto Early Himalayan Artistic and Mortuary Practices
Gold Burial Mask with Engraved Figures Guge, Ngari region, western Tibet; Protohistoric period (ca. 2nd or 1st century BCE)
Yumbu Lagang Castle Yarlung Valley, U region, central Tibet (present-day TAR, China); founded ca. 6th century
Jokhang Temple, Lhasa Lhasa, U region, central Tibet (present-day TAR, China); ca. 620–640
Jowo Shakyamuni of the Rasa Trulnang Tsuklakhang (Jokhang Temple) Northern India or Lhasa, Tibet; 500 BCE? or 11th century CE
Ancient Tibetan Buddhist Rock Carvings of Vairochana: Portraits of Tibetan Sovereigns and Their Courtiers
Imperial Carvings of Vairochana Denma Drak, Kham region, eastern Tibet (present-day TAR, China); 804
Ceremonial Banquet Vessels in Silver and Gold
Silver Jug Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, Tibet; 9th–10th century, based on earlier Sogdian or Uyghur prototypes
Kashmiri Aesthetics at the Royal Monastery in Western Tibet
Stupa at Toling Monastery Toling, Ngari region, western Tibet (present-day TAR, China); early 11th century
Avalokiteshvara at Khartse Khartse, Ngari region, western Tibet; ca. early 11th century
Maitreya and Manjushri Mural Dratang Temple, U region, central Tibet (present-day TAR, China); ca. 1081–1093
Tara Who Protects from the Eight Great Fears Reting Monastery, U region, central Tibet; ca. 1056–1189
Molded Clay Image (Tsatsa) of Amoghapasha Guge, Ngari region, western Tibet; 11th–12th century
The Commemorative Stupas of the Lang/Pakmodrupa Dynasty
Densatil Monastery Pakmodru, U region, central Tibet (present-day TAR, China); founded 1158
Presence and Power: Footprints in Tibetan Art
Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara and the Buddha’s Footprints Central Tibet; 12th century
Virupa Sakya Monastery, Tsang region, central Tibet; ca. 1216–1244
Mahakala Stone Sculpture Tibet; dated 1292
Padmasambhava and His Manifestations Tibet; late 13th century or later
The Chorten Cave of Luri Luri, present-day Mustang District, Nepal; ca. 1300
Mongol Patronage, Nepalese Artists, and Murals as a Public Marketing Strategy for Sacred Books
Mural Painting at Zhalu Monastery Zhalu Monastery, Tsang region, central Tibet (present-day TAR, China); ca. 1340
Mandala of Manjuvajra of the Vajravali Set Commissioned in Memory of Lama Dampa Lhokha, Central Tibet; 1375–1380
A Ming Dynasty Monastery at the Sino-Tibetan Frontier
Qutan Monastery (Drotsang Dorje Chang) Drotsang, Tsongkha, Amdo region, eastern Tibet (present-day Ledu county, Qinghai Province, China); 1392–1427
Murals at Toling Dukhang “Ornament of the World” Toling Monastery, Guge Kingdom, Ngari region, western Tibet (present-day TAR, China); 15th century (ca. 1424–1458)
An Architectural Representation of Complete Tantric Knowledge
Gyantse Kumbum Pelkhor Chode Monastery, Gyantse, Tsang region, central Tibet (present-day TAR); ca. 1427–1442
Jivarama’s Sketchbook Tibet (and Nepal?); 1435
Reexamining Khyentse Chenmo and His Painting Tradition
Murals of Gongkar Chode Gongkar Chode Monastery, Lhoka, U region, central Tibet (present-day TAR, China); 1464–1476
Bon Deity Trowo Tsochok Khagying Tibet; 15th century
Earliest Extant Printed Edition of Milarepa’s Life Story Ron Wosel Puk, Gungtang, Southwest Tibet; 1538
Portrait of Lowo Khenchen Sonam Lhundrub Mustang, Nepal; first half of the 16th century
Portrait of the Ninth Karmapa Central Tibet (possibly Tsurpu Monastery); ca. 1590
The History, Literature, and Art of Tibetan Swords
Sword, Scabbard, and Sword Belt Tibet; Blade: ca. 16th–17th century; Hilt, Scabbard, and Belt: ca. early 18th–mid-19th century
Taranatha’s Vision of Shakyamuni’s Quest
A Monumental Life of the Buddha Mural Puntsok Ling Monastery, Tsang region, central Tibet (present-day TAR, China); ca. 1615–1630
Portrait of Ngadak Puntsok Rigdzin Lo Gekhar, Mustang, Nepal; mid-17th century
Potala Palace Lhasa, U region, central Tibet (present-day TAR, China); 1645–1694
Medicine, Science, and the Everyday in Tibetan Art
Desi Sanggye Gyatso’s Medical Paintings Lhasa, U region, central Tibet; 1687–1697
The Kalachakra Mandala in the Potala Palace Lhasa, U region, central Tibet; late 17th century
Wrathful Tantric Imagery at the Seat of the Tibetan State Oracle
Nechung Monastery Murals Nechung Monastery, Lhasa, U region, central Tibet (present-day TAR, China); ca. 1682
Prayer Wheel Tibet or Mongolia; 17th–18th century
Lukhang Murals Lhasa, U region, central Tibet (present-day TAR, China); ca. 1700 and later
Nartang Woodblock Prints and Their Painted Copies: Previous Lives of the Panchen Lamas Nartang printing house, Tsang region, central Tibet; second quarter of 18th century (and a painted copy)
Portrait of Situ Panchen Pelpung Monastery, Derge, Kham region, eastern Tibet; ca. 1760s
Tibetan Divination
The White Beryl Illuminated Manuscript Sakya Monastery, Tsang region, central Tibet; 18th century
The Mountain Palace of a Worldly Divinity
Mountain God Kula Khari Tibet; 19th century
Double-Sided Skull Drum Tibet; probably 19th century
Wheel of Existence Central Tibet; ca. early 20th century
Lenses of Modernity: Photography in Tibet and the Himalayas
Photograph of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama Lhasa, U region, central Tibet; 1921
Saddle Carpet for the Yabzhi Punkhang Ceremonial Cavalry Gyantse, Tsang region, central Tibet; 1930s
Saddle Made for Yuthok Tashi Dhondup Derge, Kham region, southeastern Tibet; ca. 1943–1947
Tormas Labrang Monastery, Amdo region, eastern Tibet (Gansu Province, China); 2006–2014
Sky Symbols of Divine and Cosmic Forces
Thread Crosses Kagbeni, Mustang, Nepal; 2007
Ice Buddha Lhasa, U region, central Tibet (TAR, China); 2006