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Presenting the traditional jewellery of the region in all its splendour, this book tells the fascinating stories of trade, conquest, faith and the fortune that lie behind it.
In Tibet and Nepal gold jewelry has always been rare, a luxury reserved for the wealthy and powerful. Jewelry reflected not only the owner's personal wealth, but also social and political status - frequently, promotion in rank entailed promotion in jewelry, both for male government officials and their wives. Himalayan jewelry also conveys ancient cultural values and, particularly in its form as an amulet box, it serves a powerful talismanic function. In the great religious traditions of Buddhism and Hinduism, gems and jewels - connoting preciousness, rarity and supreme refinement - often served as metaphors for ideals of the faith, and Himalayan deities were magnificently adorned with crowns and earrings, armlets and anklets, and lavish necklaces. Through a lack of archaeological and literary evidence, as well as recent political upheaval, Himalayan jewelry has never been systematically studied, much of the information on the subject being derived from accounts of Western travellers or Tibetans in exile. Now, Gold Jewelry from Tibet and Nepal offers an overview of the subject, exploring how jewelry was defined and appreciated in the Himalayan region, its materials and manufacture and its social and symbolic functions. Illustrated with some of the finest examples of gold jewelry produced in the region in recent centuries - from elaborately designed turquoise earrings to gem-encrusted amulet boxes - this fascinating book offers a rare insight into ancient traditions. With 110 illustrations, 100 in colour.
Collected over 25 years during his numerous discovery journeys in the different parts of the vast Himalayan territory, the collection illustrates the region's people heritage and culture. It offers the reader a comprehensive view of the jewellery and ornamental traditions from the many tribal groups living in this part of the world. More than 500 pieces of jewellery and adornments are displayed. The amazing varieties of material, from gold, silver, brass, ivory, semi-precious stones, shells, horn, and leather... demonstrates the unlimited skills of the Himalayan jewellery craftsmen. This book has been written in recognition of their talents. In addition, an authoritative introduction by prominent French scholar Françoise Pommaret, gives the reader a glance into the lifestyles and social systems of the indigenous people of the Himalaya.
Diana Lange has solved the mysteries of six panoramic maps of 19th c. Tibet and the Himalayas, known as the British Library's Wise Collection. The result is both a spectacular illustrated ethnographic atlas and a unique compendium of knowledge concerning the mid-19th century Tibetan world, as well as a remarkable account of an academic journey of discovery.This large format book is lavishly illustrated in colour and includes four separate large foldout maps.
This book commemorates the remarkable gift of over 400 works from the collection of Barbara and David Kipper to the Art Institute of Chicago. These outstanding pieces of jewelry and ritual objects offer a material record of vanishing ways of life. Used as portable forms of wealth, as personal adornment, and in religious practice, they represent a broad spectrum of cultures. The majority comes from the Himalayan region, including Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and Mongolia, and other pieces hail from Afghanistan, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The catalogue showcases stunning works--including delicate amulet boxes, other Tibetan Buddhist artifacts, and ornate Turkmen jewelry--through dramatic photography undertaken specifically for this publication. With five essays placing the objects in the contexts of their native regions, Vanishing Beauty offers a beautiful presentation of creativity and craftsmanship from across Asia.
The spread of Buddism and Tibetan secular power throughout the Himalayas led to a distinctive style of fortifications not found anywhere else. This book looks at Himalayan fortifications, from their creation in the Middle Ages to their destruction and capture by the Chinese in the 20th century.
The crash of the Indian plate into Asia is the biggest known collision in geological history, and it continues today. The result is the Himalaya and Karakoram - one of the largest mountain ranges on Earth. The Karakoram has half of the world's highest mountains and a reputation as being one of the most remote and savage ranges of all. In this beautifully illustrated book, Mike Searle, a geologist at the University of Oxford and one of the most experienced field geologists of our time, presents a rich account of the geological forces that were involved in creating these mountain ranges. Using his personal accounts of extreme mountaineering and research in the region, he pieces together the geological processes that formed such impressive peaks.
The first in-depth examination of the fascinating and virtually unknown of armor and weapons from Tibet, dating from the 13th to the 20th century.
In Tibet and Nepal gold jewelry has always been rare, a luxury reserved for the wealthy and powerful. Jewelry reflected not only the owner's personal wealth, but also social and political status - frequently, promotion in rank entailed promotion in jewelry, both for male government officials and their wives. Himalayan jewelry also conveys ancient cultural values and, particularly in its form as an amulet box, it serves a powerful talismanic function. In the great religious traditions of Buddhism and Hinduism, gems and jewels - connoting preciousness, rarity and supreme refinement - often served as metaphors for ideals of the faith, and Himalayan deities were magnificently adorned with crowns and earrings, armlets and anklets, and lavish necklaces. Through a lack of archaeological and literary evidence, as well as recent political upheaval, Himalayan jewelry has never been systematically studied, much of the information on the subject being derived from accounts of Western travellers or Tibetans in exile. Now, Gold Jewelry from Tibet and Nepal offers an overview of the subject, exploring how jewelry was defined and appreciated in the Himalayan region, its materials and manufacture and its social and symbolic functions. Illustrated with some of the finest examples of gold jewelry produced in the region in recent centuries - from elaborately designed turquoise earrings to gem-encrusted amulet boxes - this fascinating book offers a rare insight into ancient traditions. With 110 illustrations, 100 in colour.
Renunciation is a core value in the Buddhist tradition, but Buddhism is not necessarily austere. Jewels—along with heavenly flowers, rays of rainbow light, and dazzling deities—shape the literature and the material reality of the tradition. They decorate temples, fill reliquaries, are used as metaphors, and sprout out of imagined Buddha fields. Moreover, jewels reflect a particular type of currency often used to make the Buddhist world go round: merit in exchange for wealth. Regardless of whether the Buddhist community has theoretically transcended the need for them or not, jewels—and the paradox they represent—are everywhere. Scholarship has often looked past this splendor, favoring the theory of renunciation instead, but in this volume, scholars from a wide range of disciplines consider the role jewels play in the Buddhist imaginary, putting them front and center for the first time. Following an introduction that relates the colorful story of the Emerald Buddha, one of the most famous jewels in the world, chapters explore the function of jewels as personal identifiers in Buddhist and other Indian religious traditions; Buddhaghosa’s commentary on the Jewel Sutta; the paradox of the Buddha’s bejeweled status before and after renunciation; and the connection in early Buddhism between jewels, magnificence, and virtue. The Newars of Nepal are the focus of a chapter that looks at their gemology and associations between gems and celestial deities. Contributors analyze the Fifth Dalai Lama’s reliquary, known as the “sole ornament of the world”; the transformation of relic jewels into precious substances and their connection to the Piprahwa stupa in Northern India and the Nanjing Porcelain Pagoda. Final chapters offer detailed studies of ritual engagement with the deity known as Wish-Fulfilling Jewel Avalokiteśvara and its role in the new Japanese lay Buddhist religious movement Shinnyo-en. Engaging and accessible, Jewels, Jewelry, and Other Shiny Things in the Buddhist Imaginary will provide readers with an opportunity to look beyond a common misconception about Buddhism and bring its lived tradition into wider discussion.