GALLERY
1: INDIA | MAIN EXHIBITION |
GALLERY 2: NEPAL
Tibetan
Sculpture
TIBET
| The
subject matter of almost every Tibetan sculpture is of a religious nature
and predominantly Buddhist. The pre-Buddhist Bön religion has always
had a presence in Tibet, but sculpture depicting their pantheon is comparatively
uncommon. Secular sculpture is virtually unknown save for massive ninth-century
stone lions marking royal tombs. The early Tibetan Buddhist kings are
themselves deified, with their portraits enshrined alongside Buddhas,
bodhisattvas and protector deities. It was Buddhism that prevailed in
Tibet from the turn of the eleventh century and there was no call for
secular art. Buddhist symbolism is everywhere and Buddhist statues abound,
from private altars in town houses to devotional images in the tents of
nomadic yak herders, to the ranks of bronzes in temple collections.
from Tibetan
Sculpture |
 Amogasiddhi |
 Avalokiteshvara or Manjushri |
 Hayagriva |
 Atisha |
 Tibetan lama |
 Padmasambhava |
 Tsang Nyön Heruka |
 Rakta-Yamari |
 Naro Dakini |
all text & images © 2005 The authors, the photographers and the Ethnographic Museum, Antwerp