Beschrijving

The volume explores the rich material culture of Tibet, presenting a striking selection of artifacts spanning religious, ritualistic and everyday domains. Beautifully illustrated, the book gathers precious objects— sculptures, ritual implements, textiles and Tibetan thangka-paintings— that together form a visual testament to centuries of spiritual and artistic tradition in the region. The exhibition catalogue from the Shanghai Museum (held May-Oct 2001) conveys not only visual magnificence but also contextual depth, with bilingual Chinese-English captions helping the reader to appreciate the provenance, form and function of each piece.

Across the chapters, the focus shifts from showing individual pieces to considering larger thematic threads: the interplay between Buddhist iconography and Tibetan ritual, the way objects traveled and were used within monastic or aristocratic contexts, and the cultural synthesis between Tibetan and Han Chinese aesthetics and craftsmanship. The text doesn’t merely catalogue what is displayed, but invites reflection on how these artifacts embody identity, faith, and historical memory in the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

Finally, the book reflects on the exhibition itself— on how the selection was curated, how the objects are situated in the wider narrative of Tibetan art history, and how contemporary viewers might engage with this legacy. It invites the reader to see beyond surface beauty and to recognise each relic as a site of meaning: social, spiritual and historic. By doing so, it positions Tibetan material culture not as a static heritage, but as a living dialogue between past and present.