Spiral Spiral

Significantly damaged mural above doorway depicting wheel; sections of wall appear plastered over
Wheel of Existence
Black and white photograph of relief sculpture depicting Buddha and attendant situated before tiered architectonic sculpture
Standing Buddha Shakyamuni
Black and white photograph of relief sculpture depicting Buddha flanked by two kneeling attendants
Standing Buddha Shakyamuni
Pinkish-beige sculpture featuring almond-shaped nimbus with Bodhisattva inset; mounted on base and supported by two columns
Pensive Avalokiteshvara on the back of Maitreya Statue
Brown-gray stone sculpture in Hellenistic style depicting seated Bodhisattva with left hand raised to face level
Pensive Avalokiteshvara
Brown-red relief against stone wall of featureless figure, arm raised, standing next to three smaller figures
Birth of Buddha
Form of a bird outlined in barely suggested rust-red pigment on rough white rock
Rock Painting of a Bird
Orange-red bird with outstretched wings underneath line drawing of horned animal on beige pockmarked rock
Eagle and Wild Herbivore
Carving on cracked stone of three stacked rectangles of decreasing width topped by roughly circular form
Rock Carving (petroglyph) of a Ritual Stepped Structure
Smooth, purple-brown figurine of a sheep featuring curved horn, prominent musculature, and wooly neck
Figurine of a Wild Sheep
Natural and symbolic motifs painted in red on weathered orange rock face
Rock paintings in red ocher of a conjoined sun and moon, two sunbursts, a tree, and two swastikas
Depiction of animal decorated with geometric forms carved onto craggy brown boulder
One of three striped carnivores carved on a boulder
Project Himalayan Art 108 Object EssaysResidence of the Early Tibetan Kings and Sacred Shrine
Yumbu Lagang Castle
Yarlung Valley, U region, central Tibet (present-day TAR, China); founded ca. 6th century
Sepia-toned aerial photograph of domed building in forest bordering grasslands and fields
Project Himalayan Art 108 Object EssaysShrines as the Focal Point of Buddhist Communities
The Svayambhu Chaitya of Kathmandu
Kathmandu, Nepal; founded ca. 5th century or earlier
Depiction of archer hunting horned animals on orange-brown boulder
Project Himalayan Art 108 Object EssaysEarly Himalayan Rock Art
Alchi Petroglyph Field
Ladakh, India; Iron Age (ca. 700–100 BCE)
Relief in green-grey stone of woman grasping tree branch and swooning as she gazes upon child enclosed in full-body halo
Project Himalayan Art 108 Object EssaysThe Birth of the Buddha
Mayadevi Giving Birth to Siddhartha
Nepal; Varman or Licchavi period, 4th–5th century
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