Guge - Ages of Gold

Guge - Ages of Gold PDF Author: Peter van Ham
Publisher: Hirmer Verlag GmbH
ISBN: 9783777426686
Category : Buddhism
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"During the 10th century Buddhism blossomed in the far west of Tibet into unexpected magnificence and greatness. In breathtaking views of temple complexes that are no longer accessible to Western cameras, this volume shows for the first time anywhere in the world the masterly relics of that incomparable era that have survived to the present day, from both the Indian and the Tibetan side of the old Kingdom of Guge. The rulers of the Kingdom of Guge were patrons of the arts who invited Indian scholars to translate the texts of the Buddha into Tibetan, thereby preserving the teachings. At the same time they had a large number of temple complexes built and ornamented to create unique artworks by master craftsmen from Kashmir. Until well into the 17th century Guge experienced two golden ages in which the West Tibetan artistic style was perfected in monasteries like Tholing, Tsaparang and Dungkar. Together with "TABO -- Gods of Light: The Indo-Tibetan Masterpiece" this volume represents a unique overall view of the monastery art of Western Tibet"--Publisher's website.

Guge - Ages of Gold

Guge - Ages of Gold PDF Author: Peter van Ham
Publisher: Hirmer Verlag GmbH
ISBN: 9783777426686
Category : Buddhism
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
"During the 10th century Buddhism blossomed in the far west of Tibet into unexpected magnificence and greatness. In breathtaking views of temple complexes that are no longer accessible to Western cameras, this volume shows for the first time anywhere in the world the masterly relics of that incomparable era that have survived to the present day, from both the Indian and the Tibetan side of the old Kingdom of Guge. The rulers of the Kingdom of Guge were patrons of the arts who invited Indian scholars to translate the texts of the Buddha into Tibetan, thereby preserving the teachings. At the same time they had a large number of temple complexes built and ornamented to create unique artworks by master craftsmen from Kashmir. Until well into the 17th century Guge experienced two golden ages in which the West Tibetan artistic style was perfected in monasteries like Tholing, Tsaparang and Dungkar. Together with "TABO -- Gods of Light: The Indo-Tibetan Masterpiece" this volume represents a unique overall view of the monastery art of Western Tibet"--Publisher's website.

Garland of Visions

Garland of Visions PDF Author: Jinah Kim
Publisher: University of California Press
ISBN: 0520343212
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
Garland of Visions explores the generative relationships between artistic intelligence and tantric vision practices in the construction and circulation of visual knowledge in medieval South Asia. Shifting away from the traditional connoisseur approach, Jinah Kim instead focuses on the materiality of painting: its mediums, its visions, and especially its colors. She argues that the adoption of a special type of manuscript called pothi enabled the material translation of a private and internal experience of "seeing" into a portable device. These mobile and intimate objects then became important conveyors of many forms of knowledge—ritual, artistic, social, scientific, and religious—and spurred the spread of visual knowledge of Indic Buddhism to distant lands. By taking color as the material link between a vision and its artistic output, Garland of Visions presents a fresh approach to the history of Indian painting.

A Brief History of the Kingdom Guge

A Brief History of the Kingdom Guge PDF Author: Nyima Samkar
Publisher: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives
ISBN: 9390752736
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
During the period of disintegration of Tibet, in 923, the Water-Sheep year, Kyide Nyimagon, the undisputed lineage-holder of the Three Great Kings of Tibet, went first to Pureng Ralairu. In 934 of the Wood-horse year, Rala Kharmar was built. Gradually, Nyizung Kukhar was built, and after introducing a new law, Purang, Guge, Maryul and other areas were brought under his control. His son Thri Tashi Gon built Guge fort after carving the blue slate hill of Guge. Since then, 26 Kings ruled there for more than 700 years forming thereby a Guge kingdom of what came to be known as the Cap-size Small Kingdom in Upper Tibet. The author was born in Ruchang, Ngari of Tibet. He escaped in 1959 and sought political asylum in 1960. Graduated from Tibet Homes Foundation in 1973 and obtained BA Degree from Punjab University in 1977. He joined CTA as a junior clerk on 15th June 1977 and at the time of his retirement from CTA on 15th December 2012, he was working as general secretary. He has also authored other books like History of Ngari, Rosary of white Pearl a youngster’s ornament in Tibetan and Mount Kailash the White Mirror, Ngari Tibet in English.

Creating the Universe

Creating the Universe PDF Author: Eric Huntington
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295744073
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
Winner, 2018 Edward Cameron Dimock, Jr. Prize in the Indian Humanities Buddhist representations of the cosmos across nearly two thousand years of history in Tibet, Nepal, and India show that cosmology is a rich language for the expression of diverse religious ideas, with cosmological thinking at the center of Buddhist thought, art, and practice. In Creating the Universe, Eric Huntington presents examples of visual art and architecture, primary texts, ritual ideologies, and material practices—accompanied by extensive explanatory diagrams—to reveal the immense complexity of cosmological thinking in Himalayan Buddhism. Employing comparisons across function, medium, culture, and history, he exposes cosmology as a fundamental mode of engagement with numerous aspects of religion, from preliminary lessons to the highest rituals for enlightenment. This wide-ranging work will interest scholars and students of many fields, including Buddhist studies, religious studies, art history, and area studies. Art History Publication Initiative. For more information, visit http://arthistorypi.org/books/creating-the-universe

Himalaya: A Human History

Himalaya: A Human History PDF Author: Ed Douglas
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393542009
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 592

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Book Description
A magisterial history of the Himalaya: an epic story of peoples, cultures, and adventures among the world’s highest mountains. For centuries, the unique and astonishing geography of the Himalaya has attracted those in search of spiritual and literal elevation: pilgrims, adventurers, and mountaineers seeking to test themselves among the world’s most spectacular and challenging peaks. But far from being wild and barren, the Himalaya has been home to a diversity of indigenous and local cultures, a crucible of world religions, a crossroads for trade, and a meeting point and conflict zone for empires past and present. In this landmark work, nearly two decades in the making, Ed Douglas makes a thrilling case for the Himalaya’s importance in global history and offers a soaring account of life at the "roof of the world." Spanning millennia, from the earliest inhabitants to the present conflicts over Tibet and Everest, Himalaya explores history, culture, climate, geography, and politics. Douglas profiles the great kings of Kathmandu and Nepal; he describes the architects who built the towering white Stupas that distinguish Himalayan architecture; and he traces the flourishing evolution of Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism that brought Himalayan spirituality to the world. He also depicts with great drama the story of how the East India Company grappled for dominance with China’s emperors, how India fought Mao’s Communists, and how mass tourism and ecological transformation are obscuring the bloody legacy of the Cold War. Himalaya is history written on the grandest yet also the most human scale—encompassing geology and genetics, botany and art, and bursting with stories of courage and resourcefulness.

Tabo--gods of Light

Tabo--gods of Light PDF Author: Peter Van Ham
Publisher: Hirmer Verlag GmbH
ISBN: 9783777423265
Category : Art, Indic
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Over one thousand years old, the monastery complex of Tabo and its exquisitely preserved works of art provide a wealth of marvellous pictures. The richly illustrated volume reproduces the beauty of these works of art, while the accompanying text presents the most recent research findings. The monastery of Tabo is located in the north-Indian region of the Himalayas. Founded in 996 AD, it is the oldest temple complex in the Tibetan cultural area to have been preserved in its original state. Tabo s main temple, the Temple of the Enlightened Gods, is a unique gesamtkunstwerk. Sculptures and paintings dating back one thousand years that were executed in an incomparably delicate style, probably by Indian artists, together form a sort of horizontal walkable mandala. Special permission was granted to Peter van Ham so that he could take photographs of the temple s halls, which are not accessible to the public. The volume presents these breath-taking photographs and describes in detail the entire gamut of Tibetan artistic styles. Tabo Monastery, located in the North-Indian Himalayan region of Spiti (Himachal Pradesh) and founded in 996 CE, is the most ancient temple-site of the entire Tibetan cultural realm, which has been preserved unaltered in its original state. Simple adobe buildings erected on level ground were designated as a university and served as a meeting place of saints and scholars during the so-called Second Diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet, initiated by the kings of Western Tibet, the Great Translator Rinchen Sangpo and the Indian master Atisha. From that Golden Period, Tabo s main temple, the Temple of Enlightened Gods, in its interior conserves an exceptional comprehensive artwork, a masterpiece of Indo-Tibetan art: An arrangement of a thousand year-old sculptures and paintings, produced presumably by Indian artists in incomparably fine and beautiful style, forms a unique horizontal mandala, which till today serves as a means for the achievement of highest enlightenment. Furthermore, Tabo offers the rare opportunity to experience and study the entire array of Tibetan art forms and styles, as in its other temples, beautiful and unique masterpieces, especially from the Second Period of West Tibetan art (15th/16th century), but also of later periods, have been preserved, which are also described in detail in this volume. For this book, the Archaeological Survey of India has granted an only rarely given permission to the author and photographer Peter van Ham to document the otherwise forbidden place. The result is a stunning visual review of outstanding beauty combined with a concise text, which comprises the latest in research on the sanctuary of Tabo, that will appeal to a wide range of readers, be they art historians, tibetologists or travellers."

Greed for Gold

Greed for Gold PDF Author: Kurt J. Jaeger
Publisher: tredition
ISBN: 3347684109
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
Since Biblical times and throughout the Solomonic succession, Ethiopia's gold mines have continuously been in the respective rulers' hands. Therefore, raids on the gold shipments to the capital were always a significant problem. Marauding bandits known as 'Shiftas' had captured large amounts of modern firearms from the dissolving Italian military colonial forces in 1941, thus dramatically raising the risk of such transports. Most directly affected was the gold mine of Shakiso in the region of Sidamo. With the end of the war and the return of Emperor Haile Selassie, that goldmine was once again highly productive under the supervision of a new expatriate manager. As a result, the mine's yield increased, and the gold bullion shipments to Addis Ababa started again at regular intervals. With copious and regular plunder available, the raids of the 'Shiftas' became increasingly bold. A runway for airplanes near the mine seemed to be the answer. But that too was fraught with problems during the tropical rainy season—and air transport brought yet another problem when a pilot, moved by the love of a woman, decided to steal the bullion on his last flight. Long-forgotten fuel reserves on a former airfield of the Italians allow him a stopover to leave Ethiopia far behind and out of the authorities' reach. However, on that day, a front of thunderstorms between him and the fuel supplies rapidly developed. In this situation, doubts about the success of the hazardous venture seem appropriate.

A Dictionary of the Architecture and Archaeology of the Middle Ages: Including Words Used by Ancient and Modern Authors in Treating of Architectural and Other Antiquities, Also, Biographical Notices of Ancient Architects

A Dictionary of the Architecture and Archaeology of the Middle Ages: Including Words Used by Ancient and Modern Authors in Treating of Architectural and Other Antiquities, Also, Biographical Notices of Ancient Architects PDF Author: John Britton
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 3385105196
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
Reprint of the original, first published in 1883.

Tibet

Tibet PDF Author: Michel Peissel
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312309534
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
A passionate homage to Tibet in words and pictures by one of the last great explorers who brings the geographical, spiritual, and intellectual heart of the country to life. 250 photos.

Alchi

Alchi PDF Author: Peter Van Ham
Publisher:
ISBN: 9783777430935
Category : Alchi Gömpa (India)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The world-famous Buddhist monastery of Alchi in Ladakh, India, is the best-preserved temple complex in the Himalayas. Proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list in 1998, the monastery's artworks reveal influences from India and Tibet across Central Asia and Iran, even as far back as Ancient Greece. Housing thousands of rare paintings and sculptures from the area dating back to the eleventh century, it provides fascinating insight into the spiritual and secular life of medieval Kashmir and Western Tibet. The Dalai Lama has authorized the publication of images of these Buddhist masterpieces for the first and only time. Beautifully photographed by Peter van Ham, the images in this volume capture the miniaturesque delicacy and broad range of color of these precious works. With essays by renowned Tibetologist Amy Heller, and a foreward by His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself, this once-in-a-lifetime volume offers fascinating new insights--including a large panorama double gate fold--into one of the most beautiful monasteries in the Himalayas.