The Nyingjei Lam Collection has been updated and the various subject categories have been divided into separate and easy to browse pages.

The collection includes outstanding examples of Tibetan sculpture as well as works from Eastern India, Kashmir and Nepal. A great strength of the collection is the exquisite portrait bronzes. (See Nyingjei Lam on the Asian Art web site).

Subject Categories:
1. Buddhas
2. Indian Teachers
3. Tibetan Teachers
4. Deities
5. Protectors
6. Miscellaneous

The Tsuglakang Temple at the center of Lhasa is a great repository of works of art from the 8th century up to the present. This page of sculpture exhibits a selection of teachers from most traditions of Tibetan Buddhism in a range of sculptural and artistic styles. Like painting, sculpture can also have unique styles and stylistic traditions created by famous artists and family traditions.  (Not all of the images in the Tsuglakang Temple selection have been catalogued at this time).

The Temple Door of Mindrolling Monastery, India, is a wonderful example of both metal work and design with intricate detailing, mythical animals and a medallion depicting the story of the Four Harmonious Friends.

The Tibet House Museum Quick Guide has been updated and a Sculpture Masterworks page has been added along with the recently updated sculpture pages.

Amulet boxes are commonly used to store all manner of sacred materials such as small texts, blessing cords, consecrated medicine, relics, and the like. Objects such as this were generally carried when traveling for some distance away from home, such as on pilgrimage, or for extended business trips away.

A complete amulet box generally has three parts: (1) the metal container of whatever shape, (2) a cloth covering with a buttoned fold for opening, and finally (3) the contents of the amulet box which can be an image made of metal, a small painting, tsa-tsa (stamped clay images), cuttings of cloth - such as from the robes of a sainted teacher that has passed away, protection string that has become too thread worn to wear, Tantric medicine (mendrub), or anything that is deemed special or blessed in some way.

Links:
Amulet Box Main Page
Amulet Box Contents Page

To help organize the Tibet House Museum sculpture collection a new Outline Page has been added.

Due to the large numbers of sculpture and ritual objects in the museum collection the objects have been further divided into eight broad groups for easy viewing. The HAR Search is always available for more in depth and refined searching of the Tibet House Collection:
1. Ritual Objects
2. Book Covers & Pages
3. Stupas
4. Buddhas
5. Bodhisattvas
6. Deities
7. Teachers: Siddhas & Lamas
8. Padmasambhava

The large sculpture of Kunzang Akor, discussed in a previous post, has been added to the HAR database along with detail images.

Additional images have been added to the database entry for the famous Menri Monastery silver Drenpa Namkha sculpture. The image has also been added to the Bon Sculpture Masterworks page.

This beautiful Sherab Chamma sculpture has been added to the database. Sherab Chamma is the principal female deity/goddess of the Bon Religion and can appear in many forms [see outline page]. The image here is only black and white but regardless the beauty of the piece stands out immediately. The face is quite lovely and the body proportions are very good. The image has also been added to the Sherab Chamma masterworks page.

The Capital Museum houses one of the best collections of Densatil sculptures available. Densatil sculptures originate generally from the Densatil Monastery (or surrounding monasteries where the artists also worked) founded by Pagmodrupa Dorje Gyalpo, one of the four principal students of Gampopa, in turn the student of Milarepa. Many of these sculptures, now in museums spread around the world, were used to decorate the stupa, or reliquary, containing the mortal remains of Pagmodrupa.

Densatil Resources:
Capital Museum, Beijing, China - website
Capital Museum sculpture on the HAR site
Densatil Page, HAR site
Beijing Quick Guide Outline

Golden Buddhas from Tibet, Reconstruction of the Façade of a Stupa from Densathil
History of the Drigung Kagyu with reference to Densatil

Densatil Images:
Images 1
Images 2
Images 3
Images 4