Miniature Tibetan Buddhist Paintings from Mongolia

“Images of Devotion” Miniature Tibetan Buddhist Paintings from Mongolia opens at the Museum of East Asian Art on the 9th September 2008, as part of the Museum’s “Season of Tibet” series of exhibitions and events. The exhibition will showcase miniature Buddhist-themed paintings from Mongolia. Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia dates back to the Yuan Dynasty of the 14th and 15th Centuries, founded by Kublai Khan, and is currently the dominant religion there, being practised alongside traditional Shamanistic beliefs.

The miniature paintings, often called tsagli, generally depict buddhas and other deities – some peaceful, some wrathful – and are commonly referred to as “initiation cards”. Although the artistic styles closely follow that of Tibetan precedent, references to Mongolian history and culture can be found in the Tibetan Buddhist art produced in Mongolia, along with the stylistic influences from neighbouring cultures of China, Nepal and India.

In Mongolia, tsagli are frequently referred to as small thangka – a painted or embroidered banner hung in monasteries, a family altar, or carried by lamas in ceremonial processions. However, these smaller works of art have a variety of uses, not only as part of initiation rites but also carried as talismans, or used in clerical teaching.

Venue

Museum of East Asian Art, Central Bath

Dates

9 Sep 2008 - 9 Dec 2008