Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the IATS, 2000. Volume 7: Buddhist Art and Tibetan Patronage Ninth to Fourteenth Centuries

Book excerpt: Increasing accessibility of Tibet has provided important new insights on the history and context of Tibetan art. This book discusses the impact of Tibetan patronage on Buddhist artistic monuments from both the heartland of Tibet as well as its far (cultural) borders. A score of experts here explore the dialectic between local and “foreign” traditions. Thus the role of Indian artistic traditions, the merging with Chinese, Kidan and Turkic artistic features come to the fore, while at the same time Central Tibet gets ample attention. Recent field research and the study of previously neglected primary literary (inscriptional) evidence make clear that the study of Tibetan art is still in its infancy. This edited volume is the first comprehensive guide to emerging new insights on the intricate context in which Tibetan art emerged and flourished.