Mustang

Considered one of the last remaining bastions of Tibetan culture and located in the north-central part of Nepal at the edge of the Tibetan plateau, Mustang until recently remained a remote area. Major monasteries of the Sakya, Ngor and Nyingma schools of Tibetan Buddhism are located in Mustang, along with numerous temples, palaces, and ruins that evidence its rich past. Although some of its murals and caves have been studied and published, many still await a more detailed assessment. In addition, portable works such as sculptures, scroll paintings, stupas and books have seldom been examined and largely remained unknown to scholars as well as general audiences. Together, the monuments and objects of Mustang attest to the region’s rich past and its relevance as an important centre of artistic production and Buddhist religious practice.

Monastery Collections

In 2012 I began to explore the possibility of organizing an exhibition on the art of Mustang on behalf of the Rubin Museum of Art and partner institutions in the US. The exhibition project did not come to fruition, but it resulted in a research project on monastery collections in Mustang and Ladakh that has by now produced a substantial amount of documentation. Each participating institution receives the full photographic record as well as an inventory of its collection. The most important collection documented so far is that of Namgyal Monastery, with ten further monastery collections also documented to date. Of particular interest is the interrelationship between these collections, which exposes questions about how individual objects came to be where they are today.

Cave of Great Adepts

The Könchokling cave, the mahasiddha cave rediscovered in 2007, is the subject of dedicated research on the represented lineage and siddhas, the accompanying inscriptions, the arrangement of the figures, and the age of the paintings. The full photo documentation is available ◊ in the Könchokling gallery.

Related Publications

  • “The Cave of Great Adepts.” Orientations 45, no. 5 (2014): 50–61.

Back to top