JUN 2014
VOLUME 45 - NUMBER 5
Our June issue is devoted to early Himalayan Buddhist art. Through an analysis of a group of paintings in the Pritzker Collection, Amy Heller discusses the distinctive iconographies and techniques of Western Himalayan art of the 11th to the 13th century, and the influences of Kashmiri master artists on their Tibetan counterparts.
Other authors’ discussions of recent fieldwork in West Tibet and the Western Himalayas reveal surprising connections with this research. Christian Luczanits provides an in-depth reading and context for the painted walls of a remote cave in the barren landscape of Upper Mustang.
Helmut and Heidi Neumann propose an iconographic identification of the paintings in two caves at Dungkar in the ancient kingdom of Guge. Peter van Ham’s article examines a sculptural mandala set into the ceiling of a large stupa in Ladakh. Also in Ladakh, Chiara Bellini presents initial findings of her research into portable Kashmiri sculptures.
In other features, J. P. Park and Tiffany Beres consider the reworking of Chinese traditional themes in art, with reference to Xu Bing’s response to the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting and Michael Cherney’s photographic take on Ten Thousand Li of the Yangtze River. To conclude, Joan Stanley-Baker calls for the development of an evolutionary sequence for Chinese painting and calligraphy.
FEATURES
Amy Heller. Early Paintings from West Tibet and the Western Himalayas in the Margot and Thomas J. Pritzker Collection
Christian Luczanits. The Cave of Great Adepts
Helmut F. Neumann and Heidi A. Neumann. Wall Paintings of the Dungkar Caves Three and Four: Iconography and Style
Peter van Ham. The Khawaling Chörten: A Unique Sculpted and Painted Mandala at Nyoma, Ladakh
Chiara Bellini. Treasures from the Neighbouring Kingdoms: A Preliminary Report on Portable Buddhist Statues in Ladakhi Monasteries
J. P. Park. Classic or Cliché? The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting in Modern Context
Tiffany Beres. Michael Cherney’s Ten Thousand Li of the Yangtze River
PREVIEWS & REVIEWS
Heather Stoddard. Book Review: Zangdok Palri: The Lotus Light Palace of Guru Rinpoche Visions of the Buddhist Paradise in the Sacred Kingdom of Bhutan
Margaret Tao. New York Auctions—Spring 2014
COMMENTARY
Joan Stanley-Baker. Chinese Calligraphy and Painting as Academic Discipline: A Commentary