Tara, Painting Masterworks: like the sculptural masterworks, there are many more examples in museum and private collections than the few paintings exhibited here. Two textiles are also included in the selection. More pieces will be added in the coming months as the images become available.

Tara, Sculptural Masterworks: there are many more examples of masterworks in museum and private collections than the few Tara sculptures exhibited here. More pieces will be added in the coming months as the images become available.

Tibetan Treasures: The Rezk Collection of Tibetan and Nepalese Art. October 28, 2011 through January 27, 2012. Altoona, PA. USA.

"Loretto – The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Loretto is pleased to announce the opening of Tibetan Treasures: The Rezk Collection of Tibetan and Nepalese Art. The exhibition, which includes approximately 70 objects of Tibetan and Nepalese art spanning eight centuries, opens October 28 and will remain on view through January 28."

"The Museum’s Rezk Collection is one of the major collections of Tibetan and Nepalese art in the United States. This exhibition marks the first time the collection has been shown to the public in more than fifteen years. Tibetan Treasures features approximately 90 objects, all made within the context of Tibetan Buddhism, including thangkas (scroll paintings), block prints, sculpture, and ceremonial and ritual pieces. These range in date from the twelfth century to the twentieth, and give a fascinating overview of the rich iconography of Tibet’s unique form of Buddhism. Personifying abstract ideas as gods, demons, monsters, and saints, the objects in the exhibition bring Buddhist concepts to life in a resonant and marvelously imaginative way." (The above text is from the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art website).

(See the Southern Alleghenies collection of art on the HAR website).

Luminous: The Art of Asia, Seattle, Wash. USA

"Luminous: The Art of Asia, on view October 13, 2011–January 8, 2012 at SAM Downtown, will present a lush and rich experience of the art from 12 Asian nations. Do Ho Suh's thoughtful commentary illuminates these precious works and makes them relevant for today's contemporary audience." (Above text from the Seattle Art Museum website).

The exhibition includes a number of Tibetan and Nepalese pieces.

Reflections of the Buddha, September 9, 2011 to March 10, 2012. The Pulitzer Foundation of the Arts, St. Louis, MO. USA.

For the first exhibition of its tenth-anniversary season, The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts presents Reflections of the Buddha, a unique encounter with several major visual and spiritual Buddhist traditions. The exhibition’s twenty-two artworks, on loan from important American collections, were created in Afghanistan, China, India, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Tibet and date from the second to the eighteenth centuries. Each one is experienced in harmony with the serene atmosphere of the Pulitzer’s building, designed by master architect Tadao Ando. Three related works of contemporary art add to the resonance of the exhibition’s theme.

Admission to the Pulitzer is free. Hours: Wednesdays noon – 5pm | Saturdays 10am – 5pm

(Image: Standing Prince Shotoku at Age Two (Shotoku Taishi Nisaizo), c. 1292. Japan, Kamakura period, 1185–1333. Japanese cypress (hinoki) wood-assembled woodblock construction with polychromy and rock-crystal inlaid eyes. 26 3/4 x 9 3/4 x 9 in. (67.9 x 24.8 x 22.9 cm). Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Promised gift of Walter C. Sedgwick in memory of Ellery Sedgwick Sr. and Ellery Sedgwick Jr., 99.1979.1. Photograph by Junius Beebe © President and Fellows of Harvard College).

{All above text is from The Pulitzer Foundation of the Arts website).

Mirror of the Buddha: Early Portraits from Tibet, October 21, 2011 - March 5, 2012. Rubin Museum of Art, New York City.

"In early Tibetan painted portraits, founding masters of important Buddhist schools were often represented as holy personages. Using artistic conventions developed in India, Tibetan artists expressed the Buddhist ideals embodied in a particular person, exalting their human subjects to the level of buddhas."

"Mirror of the Buddha will present exquisite examples of these portraits, painted primarily in the eastern India-inspired Sharri style. Though the Sharri tradition spread from India to many parts of Asia, the style's classic Indian forms, delicate colors, and intricate decorative details were emulated most faithfully by Tibetans and enjoyed particular popularity in Tibet from the 12th to 14th century."

"Marking the third in a series of exhibitions that explores important Tibetan painting styles, Mirror of the Buddha will clarify some of the confusion and correct misidentifications previously posited by Western scholars. It will also analyze inscriptions and lineages, which are often overlooked yet of critical importance, as tools for dating these works of art."

"Mirror of the Buddha will be complemented by a full-color catalog rich with new scholarship, by curator David Jackson." (Text from the Rubin Museum of Art website).

Shanglon Dorje Dudul is the special protector of the Tibetan Medical Tradition, lineage and texts. There are two main forms of Shanglon. The first is a [1] seated wrathful figure that has three different forms: Outer, Inner and Secret. The second form is associated with the [2] Yutog Nyingtig and is a wrathful Mahakala-like deity that rides atop a horse and has a retinue of eight deities.

Shanglon Mahakala is the special protector for the Yutog Nyingtig Cycle of Terma texts (Revealed Treasure). The main deity of the cycle is Hayagriva with consort. The two Yutogs, known as father and son, are regarded as the founders of Tibetan Medicine. It is speculated that the idea of two famous Yutog physicians is a creation of Desi Sanggye Gyatso in the 17th century with only the ealier  the Yutog being historically grounded. (See a mandala painting with all forms of Shanglon depicted in the composition).

Deity Forms:
- [1] Shanglon Dorje Dudul (Outer Accomplishment)
- Shanglon Dorje Dudul (Inner Accomplishment)
- Shanglon Dorje Dudul (Secret Accomplishment)
- [2] Yutog Nyingtig Shanglon (with eight retinue)
- Yutog Nyingtig Retinue Figures, Initiation Cards, Initiation Cards - Others....

Gallery Pages have been added for the main subjects along with a Best of Collection Page. The Southern Alleghenies sculpture and ritual object collections have not yet been added to the Himalayan Art Resources website.

In art Buddha Appearance refers to figures that have the form of a buddha as defined by the early Buddhist literature describing the characteristics of a buddha such as the Thirty-two Major and Eighty Minor Marks of a Buddha. Typically buddha figures are facing forward, with a dot between the eyebrows, an ushnisha on the top of the head marked with a gold ornament, three lines under the neck, elongated earlobes, wearing the patchwork robes of a fully ordained monk and seated in the vajra posture with the right leg over the left. Buddhas can have different colours. Shakyamuni is generally depicted as golden in colour, Amitabha red, Medicine Buddha appears blue, etc.

In Vajrayana Buddhism there are many Buddhas that do not have 'Buddha Appearance' but rather 'Peaceful Deity Appearance.' There are also a number of historical figures such as Nagarjuna, Garab Dorje and Sakya Pandita that can also have buddha-like characteristics. (See the Buddha Appearance Main Page).

The Four Types of Lineage Depiction in Painted Compositions depicted as an Outline Page with selected examples.