Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure

Chicago, IL: University of California Press, 2003. Softcover. VG (corners lightly bumped, light shelfwear to wraps, text and illustrations are otherwise very clean). Color illustrated wraps with white lettering, black spine with white and gilt lettering. 308 pp. profusely illustrated in color. Catalogue from the exhibitions held April to August 2003 in Chicago and in DC from October 2003 to January 2004. "This sweeping survey of the artistic achievements of Himalayan culture is the first major exhibition to include objects from all the major religions of the region. Created to accompany the landmark art exhibition that will include almost two hundred of the finest works of art created between the sixth and nineteenth centuries in India, Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan, this book explores the particular beauty that evolved from the spiritual traditions unique to the Himalayas. Lavishly illustrated with many rarely seen images, Himalayas conveys the spiritual aspirations of those who defied the physical hardships of an arduous mountain terrain to express their soaring creative spirit. Currently held in private and public collections in North America and Europe, seventy percent of this art has never been published or publicly exhibited. The works include temple sculptures of stone and wood; works in terracotta; cast bronzes with inlaid gemstones, gilding, and paint; colorful paintings—from reverential portraits to depictions of awe-inspiring deities—on cloth, palm leaf, paper, and wood; and ritual objects in various media. Pratapaditya Pal provides a fascinating description of the cultural milieu in which these works of art were created.