Publisher's Synopsis
This book presents the Ashmolean Museum's collection of some sixty important early sculptures and other objects from Tibet and Nepal dating from c500-1400 AD. They include a number of secular objects as well as images of deities in the Hindu and Buddhist pantheons. In order to trace their aesthetic and historical development, and their materials and techniques of manufacture Dr Amy Heller, an eminent authority on Himalayan art, examines the geography of trade within the Himalayan and neighbouring regions, the antecedents of these objects in India and the surrounding regions, and developments in the arts from the seventh to the fourteenth century in her introductory essay. The objects themselves are reproduced in colour throughout, with detailed descriptions to accompany them.