“In the West, Buddhism has often been romanticized as an unchanging passive tradition, but historically this was not the case. In Tibet, religion and politics were so intertwined as to be inseparable. For over a millennium Tibetan Buddhism was an active force in politics, both as a means to claim the right to rule and the magical means to take it. Faith and Empire brings together more than 60 remarkable works of art—many from the highest levels of imperial court production—that illuminate the ways in which art and religion had a tremendous impact on politics in the courts of North Asia.”
Karl Debreczeny, Senior Curator at the Rubin Museum