APR 2003

VOLUME 34 - NUMBER

Curated by Pratapaditya Pal, the exhibition 'Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure', which opens at The Art Institute of Chicago on 5 April, marks the pinnacle of a long and unfluential career devoted to the study and connoisseurship of the field. The show celebrates the artistic achievements of India, Nepal, TIbet and Bhutan over a period of 1,500 years with 187 works of art drawn from public and private collections in North America, Europe and Asia. A related three-day symposium takes place at the Institute from 4 to 6 April. In this issue, leading scholars share their insight on selected masterpieces from the show. In her discussion of a Tibetan sculpture of the Three Great Protectors, Amy Heller suggests that they may have been the model for the principal images of the Khojarnath chapel, one of the most famous sculptural triads in Tibetan art. Oskar von Hinüber's study of an image of Nandivikramadityanandi from Gilgit highlights the difficulties of interpreting inscriptions. Gautama Vajracharya discusses one of a considerable number of unpublished works that came to light in Pal's preparation for the exhibition - a portrait painted for ritual ancestor worship of Gaganasim and his wives. Karl Debreczeny compares seven paintings bearing the 10th Karma-pa's inscription in his own hand, recently discovered in the Lijang Museum in China, with two examples in the exhibition.

Amy Heller gives an overview of archaeological finds made in western and central Tibet and Dulan, to place in context a group of gilt-silver artefacts, now in the Pritzker Collection, which are believed to come from the Tibetan empire in Central Asia.

Finally, marking an exhibition of China trade paintings and related objects on view from 29 March to 22 June at the University Museum and Art Gallery in Hong Kong, Kee Il Choi examines a recently discovered painting depicting the vessel 'Gustav Adolph' which is now in the collection of Anthony J. Hardy.

FEATURES
Kee Il Choi, Jr. A Chinese Export Painting as China Trade History
Amy Heller. Archaeological Artefacts from the Tibetan Empire in Central Asia
Li Xi. Treasures of the Lijiang Dongba Cultural Museum
Karl Debreczeny. The Buddha's Law Among the ‘Jang: The 10th Karma-pa's Development of his 'Chinese-Style Thangka Painting' in the Kingdom of Lijiang
Gautama V. Vajracharya. Threefold Intimacy: The Recent Discovery of an Outstanding Nepalese Portrait Painting
Oskar von Hinuber. The Magnificent Bronze of Nandivikramadityanandi: A Delight for the Beholder, A Worry for the Epigraphist
Amy Heller. The Three Silver Brothers
PREVIEWS & REVIEWS
Curtis Evarts. Book Review: Edited by Zhu Jiajin with captions and contributions by Hu Desheng, Ming Qing Jiaju, vols 54 and 55 of Gugong bowuyucancang wenwu zhenpin quanji, Shangwu Yinshuguan, Shenzhou, 2002
NEWS
Interview with Huo Wei
COMMENTARY
Valerie C. Doran. Commentary: Tracking the Parallel Universe