Art & Antiques from Tibet 
The
Mystical Arts of Tibet:
Featuring Personal Sacred Objects of H.H. the Dalai Lama
by Glenn Mullin, Andy Weber, Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi
Hardcover (1996) Paperback
(1996)
This well-done book shows the most colorful and best of the Dalai Lama's
personal collection of art. It contains beautiful, vividly colored Buddhist imagery of
various buddas and dharmapalas (check out the painting of Vajrabhairava standing on a
bunch of hindu gods on page 110), as well as a introduction by the Dalai Lama himself, and
a brief tibetian buddhist history. I just wish it had a little more. All in all, well
worth the price.
DK from New Jerus, America , December 20, 1998
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The monastery of Tabo in northern India is the oldest continuously operating Buddhist enclave in India and the Himalayas. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Tibetan monks and Indian pandits studied together and translated scripture from Sanskrit. The main temple of Tabo is a masterpiece of Indian and Tibetan art. This book describes the art, iconography, contemporary rituals, and hidden glories of this important Buddhist site.
The ancient caves of Ajanta in western India, rediscovered by British
soldiers in 1819, are the only known examples of Buddhist carvings and paintings from an
epoch of extraordinary vitality. The earliest of the 31 designed caves along the Waghora
River date from the second century B.C., when the first Buddhists forbade representation
of the Buddha himself, leaving artists free to employ a lexicon of symbolic figures. Six
centuries later, the most splendidly realized of the caves were created to express the
visions of the Mahayana order. Here the Buddha is lovingly portrayed seated, and the story
of his life is depicted in sensuous detail. As adept a commentator as he is a
photographer, Behl provides fascinating explanations of the techniques used to carve the
animated reliefs and paint the richly detailed murals. He writes, "It is the life of
the spirit rather than that of worldly existence which pervades these paintings,"
and, indeed, their contemplative beauty inspires a joy not unlike a foretaste of the
purported ecstasy of enlightenment.
Donna Seaman Copyright© 1998, American Library Association. All rights reserved
This is an expensive, coffee table book of Tibetan Art but it is well worth it. The color photos are numerous and large. The text is well documented and very readable without being too dry and academic. Highly reccomended. A reader from Kentucky , August 23, 1998
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