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TIBET: MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS, CASTLES AND TENTS is organized by The Newark Museum to showcase its great historical and archival treasures of Tibetan culture, considered the finest in the Western Hemisphere. For the first time, these objects are being shown outside the Museum. The high remote plateau of Tibet sits squarely in the center of Asia, surrounded by the largest mountains in the world, the vast Taklamakan desert and the grasslands of Mongolia. Fierce Tibetan warriors first emerged in historical records in the 7th century as they fought for control of the lucrative trade routes across Central Asia. In the 7th and 8th centuries, the Tibetan empire stretched from western China to the oasis cities of Khotan and Kashgar and from the Himalayas to the Kunlun mountains. Although this empire collapsed in the mid 9th century, the legacy of a proud warrior elite living in fortified castles and lavish traveling tents amidst the formidable mountains and lush valleys of the plateau remained part of the Tibetan culture into the first half of the 20th century. Beginning with an overview of Tibetan geography and history, MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS, CASTLES AND TENTS shows the influence of extreme altitudes and barren terrain upon Tibetan economics, religion and artistic expression. Though physically isolated from much of the world by high deserts and mountains, Tibet has always been a commercially active area, crisscrossed by trade routes. The Tibetan people also have a spiritual connection to the high and rugged land, and early creation myths consider the plateau a sacred, spiritually potent area. The physical land of Tibet—deserts, mountain ranges, lakes and rivers—is powerfully depicted in photographs from the Museum’s collection, many taken in the early 1900s by Dr. Albert L. Shelton, The Newark Museum’s first source of Tibetan art, on his journeys through Tibet. MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS, CASTLES AND TENTS explores two traditional ways of life and their profound impact upon Tibetan society. The first addresses the lifestyle of the aristocracy, utilizing lavishly decorated daily objects and ceremonial ornaments to illustrate the political power and social standing of the noble families of Tibet. The second part of the exhibition examines the personal belongings and tools of nomadic traders, farmers and herders of eastern and northeastern Tibet. Specifications: · The exhibition includes approximately 59 objects · 13 b/w and color mural photographs · 16 Text panels and label copy on disk From the Sacred Realm: Treasures of Tibetan Art from the Newark Museum, the recent publication co-published with Prestel on the collection, featuring over 200 illustrations, can be ordered from the Newark Museum Shop. Additional publications and gifts inspired by the Tibetan collection are also available. Click here to order this catalogue from Amazon.com ($45.50) For more information contact: General Information: 973-596-6550 Group Reservations: 973-596-6613 Email: New Exhibitions A Brush with History: Contemporary Artists and Chinese Tradition April 23 through July 6, 2003 Flight in New Jersey: Art & Invention May 3 through September 7, 2003 Changing America, 1945-1975: Master Photographs from the David Sestak Family Collection May 3 through November 30, 2003 Capturing the Sublime: The Enamels of Marilyn Druin June 15 through December 31, 2003 Half Past Autumn: The Art of Gordon Parks June 25 through August 31, 2003 Ongoing Exhibitions African Shields: Art, Power and Identity Through March 2, 2004 Dynamic Earth: Revealing Nature's Secrets Ongoing Impacts: Asteroids, Comets and Meteorites in the Planetarium Gallery Ongoing Courtly Arts of the Indian Subcontinent Through February 2004 Southeast Asian Images in Stone and Terracotta Through June 2004 The Ancient Buddhist Kingdoms of South Asia Through June 2004 Fair Winds and Clear Water: Japanese Poetic Calligraphy Through December 2003 In a Gentleman's Study: Korean Calligraphy and Scholarly Pursuits Through December 2003 Poetry, Proclamations and Propaganda:Chinese Calligraphy from The Newark Museum Collection Through December 2003 Puerto Rican Santos de Palo from The Newark Museum Collection Through November 2003 Amber: Worlds Suspended in Time Through Fall 2003 Picturing America: The New American Art Galleries Ongoing Upcoming Exhibitions Art Explores Religion July 30 through September 28, 2003 JPMorgan Chase Presents Once Upon a Dime October 4, 2003 through 2005 Quilt Masterpieces from Folk Art to Fine Art October 17, 2003 through January 11, 2004 Ancient Microworlds Opens Fall 2003 For exhibition details, please visit our website www.newarkmuseum.org