Detail: A two-day forum focusing on the study of Buddhist relics, the artistic styles and archaeological discoveries in the core areas of the Silk Road such as the five Central Asian countries, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China and Nepal.

Forum will be conducted in Mandarin or English with simultaneous interpretation.

The Tibetan Plateau, an important and active area on the ancient Silk Road, has left a rich and varied cultural and artistic heritage in its more than two thousand years of history, and has been the subject of much global academic research. Taking art history, cultural relics and archaeological discoveries in the countries and regions of the Tibetan Plateau as its theme, and against a broader historical/cultural background and time span, The Silk Road and the Art of the Tibetan Plateau Forum will focus on the study of Buddhist relics, the artistic styles and archaeological discoveries in the core areas of the Silk Road such as the five Central Asian countries, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China and Nepal. The aim is to understand from the perspective of art history and archaeology, how the Silk Road, as an economic and cultural epicenter, affected the many Himalayan areas it encompassed in terms of multicultural and religious dissemination, migration of ethnic groups, commerce, and trade.


Saturday, May 26, 2018
Forum: 9:10am; Close: 6:05pm

10:00-11:20a.m. | Session I
From Monastery to University: Growth of An Academic Institution (5th to 12th Century CE)
Dr. B.R. Mani, National Museum, New Delhi

Mahasthan (ancient Puṇḍranagara) A Pāla Capital at a Crossroads in Northeastern India
Prof. Vincent Lefèvre, French Ministry of Culture


11:20a.m.-12:40p.m. | Session II
The Spread and Development of Pāla Art in Western Tibet
Prof. HUO Wei, Sichuan University

A Survey of Murals and Stone Sculptures Found in Lhasa Area: A Definition of Tibetan Pāla Style
Prof. LUO Wenhua, Palace Museum


2:30-3:50p.m. | Session III
Pāla Painting Traditions and Their Early Adaptations in Tibet
Prof. Jane Casey, Independent Scholar

Some Problems on the Dating and Disseminated Routes of Pāla Style Arts in China
Prof. XIONG Wenbin, Sichuan University


4:10-6:05pm | Session IV
Naga and Padma in the Pãla period of India — The Appearance of Lotus Mandala
Zhang Ya Jing, Institute for the Study of Tibetan Buddhist Heritage, The Palace Museum

From India to the Doorstep of China. Indian Pāla style in the Hexi Corridor
Mr. Yury Khokhlov, Independent Scholar

Indian Art and Its Influence at the Ming and Qing Courts
Mr. David Weldon, Independent Scholar


Sunday, May 27, 2018
Forum: 9:30; Close: 5:45pm

9:30-11:30a.m. | Session V
Narrative Versus Tantra Based Figurative Forms: A Comparison of Pāla & Tibetan Buddhist Iconography
Prof. Jeff Watt, Himalayan Art Resource

Eight Life Scenes of Śākyamuni Buddha in Pāla Sculpture
Prof. Masahide Mori, Kanazawa University

An Aesthetic and Iconographic Study of Pāla Sculptures in the National Museum, New Delhi
Prof. Dr. Anupa Pande, Department of History of Art, National Museum Institute, New Delhi


11:45a.m.-1:05p.m. Session VI
The Origin of Black Hat of Karma bKa’-rGyud — A Reexamination to the Bhaiṣajyaguru Thangka from Khara Khoto
Prof. XIE Jisheng, Zhejiang University

Choice Among Alternatives: An Analysis of Pāla Elements in Early Murals of Shalu Monastery
Dr. YANG Hongjiao, Museum of Tibetan Culture, China Tibetology Research Center


2:30-3:30p.m. Session VII
Buddhist Images of Dance and Awe in Bihar and Bengal, 11th-12th century
Prof. Claudine Bautze Picron, French National Centre for Scientific Research

The Bejewelled Buddha
Ms. Komal Pande, National Museum, New Delhi


4:05-5:25p.m. Session VIII
Avalokitesvara in Pāla Art
Dr. Savita Kumari, National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation & Museology

Art in the Life of Atiśa Questions about 11th-Century Pāla or Pāla-Inspired Painting in Tibet
Dr. Dan Martin, Hebrew University