The main purpose of this website is to provide documentation that complements my work on Buddhist art in India and Tibet.

Photo: Alchi Choskhor, Jaroslav Poncar 1982.

Alchi, Ladakh's Hidden Buddhist Sanctuary

This publication builds on and includes Roger Goepper's seminal book on the Sumtsek and covers all other early monuments of the Alchi Choskhor in Ladakh, India. As with the original publication, it relies on Jaroslav Poncar's documentation from the 1980s and early 1990s. The two-volume book is also available Open Access and can be downloaded from here:

Tibetan Monastery Collections and Museums

The publication Tibetan Monastery Collections and Museums: Traditional Practices and Contemporary Issues edited by Louise Tythacott and me is now available as part of the Vajra Academic series. The publication brings together contributions on the curation of Tibetan art collections in monasteries in Ladakh and Mustang, as well as in the West.

The book results from an international workshop held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, from 8 to 10 November 2018. The workshop was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC; 2016–20) as part of the wider research project on Tibetan Buddhist Monastery Collections Today.

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Tabo's Secret Main Mandala

The identification of the goddesses represented between the clay sculptures of the Vajradhātu mandala assembly in the Tabo Main Temple led to the identification of the Dharmadhātu mandala as the secret main topic of the Tabo Main Temple. Its full assembly is spread throughout the monument and explains much of its content, including the high number of pan-Indian deities in the Entry Hall and the two groups of sixteen Bodhisattvas of the Fortunate Aeon (bhadrakalpa) in the Ambulatory.

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Two Illuminated Text Collections of Namgyal Monastery, Mustang

Among the various sacred objects of Namgyal Monastery, two collections of Buddhist canonical literature stand out for their age and complex illumination programmes. A new book publication by Markus Viehbeck and me presents the visual and textual contents of these two sets of Buddhist manuscripts and analyses them from the perspectives of manuscript studies, art history, and textual analysis. The book—including all preserved illuminations and the complete catalogue of texts contained—is the first volume of a new peer-reviewed publication series dedicated to the Himalayas called Vajra Academic and published with Vajra Books, Kathmandu, Nepal. For further information on this series see the Vajra Books website.

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Photo: Mandala of Padmanarteśvara on the third floor of the Jampa Lhakhang, Lo Manthang; Philip Lieberman 1994.

Ancient Temples in Lo Manthang

After many years and several attempts in the making, image galleries documenting the Jampa Lhakhang and Tupchen Lhakhang in Lo Manthang are now online. These images have been generously provided by Philip and Marcia Lieberman (1993, 1994), who also published a selection of their documentation online (Tibetan Buddhist Wall Paintings of Mustang, Nepal), and Jaroslav Poncar (1998). Today, this documentation is invaluable due to the recent restorations of these temples, which are also partially documented through comparisons I took in 2013. I have already expressed my opinion about these restorations in two articles; now everyone can see what has been lost through them.

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A New Book on Alchi

Finally, my publication on the Alchi Choskhor together with Jaroslav Poncar and Serindia is approaching the finishing line. Building on and including an updated version of Roger Goepper's Sumtsek volume, it covers all early remains of the Alchi Choskhor. Through a detailed analysis of the architecture, murals, and sculptures in their contexts and interrelationships, the publication offers a new understanding of the monument's historical and religious environment. Holger Neuwirth and Carmen Auer contribute studies on the architecture and plans, while Rob Linrothe and Nils Martin provide new analyses of the Sumtsek's lineage and foundation inscription. See also:

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The Interior Decoration of Wanla

In 2015 Holger Neuwirth & Carmen Auer published a book on The Three Storied Temple of Wanla with their University (Technische Universität Graz). By that time I had worked for years on a full description of the temple's iconography, but could not get it finished in time for the publication. In the meantime, I shared this draft with a number of people, but I think even in its draft state the rich material assembled in the 180-page document may be of broader interest. I have thus made it available through this website.

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Mustang Monastery Collections

Since 2012 I have been documenting monastery collections in Mustang. The collection of sculptures and books at Namgyal monastery turned out to be extremely exciting, each visit resulting in new discoveries. A first glimpse of this collection is offered in a two part contribution to Orientations (March and June 2016). The 14th century Prajñāpāramitā and Sūtra sections of the Kanjur are now fully documented and their catalogue and a study of its illuminations are in process. The Lamdré sculpture sets are being studied in detail as well.

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Cave of Great Adepts

In 2007 the rediscovery of a painted cave hidden in the barren mountain landscape of Upper Mustang, Nepal, hit the international headlines. Years passed without further information on the cave, the published mural and its context, save for an article providing only an initial assessment published in 2010. This website contains the full documentation of the cave's murals, accompanying an article written for the June 2014 issue of Orientations which offers a more precise reading and context for the cave.

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Kanaganahalli

Now that the excavation report of this fascinating early Buddhist site has been published, I decided to make my documentation from the early years of the new millennium publicly available. The more than 400 pictures have been taken in the course of a two-day visit and are roughly arranged clockwise around the monument beginning on the east side. For more information on this documentation see the site page on Kanaganahalli.

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Flip Side

Since March 2013 Flip Side, The Unseen in Tibetan Art is on view at the Rubin Museum of Art. The exhibition reveals and explains the backs of selected Tibetan artworks for the first time. Be ready for surprises. A brochure planned to accompany the exhibit had to be abandoned, and what is being presented in the exhibit is so far unpublished.

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Mustang Again

In May 2012, I again had the opportunity to visit Mustang, known locally as Lo. This time I spent twenty-one days in the restricted area, saw the Tiji festival, a ritual dedicated to the deity Vajrakīlaya, visited sites I had not seen at my earlier visit, and also walked down the east side of the Kali Kandaki Valley, a spectacular walk indeed. This journey was for a project on behalf of the Rubin Museum of Art about which I will inform in due course. Here is a picture gallery from this trip:

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Storm King

One nice autumn day in 2011 I was invited to join a day trip to the Storm King Art Center an hour's drive north of New York City. What an amazing park and art landscape to roam around and get new views with every step, even more so with the famous New York State autumn colours in full swing.

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Kyoto

Thanks to an invitation from Ryukoku University, in summer 2011 I finally had the chance to visit Kyoto and some surrounding historic places — what a revelation in both art and architecture. With my affinity for Buddhist art and Yoga Tantra, and a background in Indian art, this was certainly the best place in Japan to learn from. Beyond the quality of the art and architecture, I was fascinated by aspects of early Japanese Buddhist art that document a loss in translation (as well as adaptation and subsequent reinterpretation) from the wider South Asian region to Japan. Take the iconic Ashura from the Kofukuji in Nara. Is he really explainable on the basis of an Indic background, or must he not much rather be interpreted against the Iranian/Zoroastrian interpretation of the world? I also can't decide whether I would rather move to Amitābha's phoenix palace at Uji or to his gigantic world at Todaiji in Nara. This is what saṃsāra and desire are all about, is it not?

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New York

On 1st October 2010, I settled in New York. My books arrived some months later and filled my modest but well-located apartment. Having lived as an academic nomad—and not slept in my own bed—for many years, I am glad to have a different lifestyle now. While searching for my present apartment, I shared a place with a view of New York as one imagines it in one's dreams …

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Mustang

Thanks to an extremely generous person, I was able to visit Mustang in August 2010, an experience that had a considerable impact on me. Not only are the temples of Lo Manthang impressive in many respects, but the art and artistic heritage preserved in this region is remarkable. Needless to say, the flights and the walks to get there and back are an exquisite experience in themselves. Astonishingly, on the way up we were accompanied by a group of bikers, who carried their bikes more than they could use them. Brave people indeed ...