Art From Tibet, China & India At Philadelphia Through October

PHILADELPHIA, PENN.

:Politics, religion and national security intersect in an exhibition of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century paintings, sculpture and textiles on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through October. "Mongols, Manchus, and Monks: The Art of Tibetan Diplomacy" explores the legacy of the artistic, political and religious triangle formed by an axis of power in the Eighteenth Century between China (then ruled by Manchus), the formidable northern Mongols and influential Tibetan monks.

The century was a hotbed of artistic and religious exchange between Mongolia, China and Tibet, with the use of Tibetan Buddhism at its core. Artistic traditions were so interlinked that art historians were seldom able to determine the region from which these pieces originated.

The exhibition, on view in Gallery 232, centers on two monumental, richly detailed cloth paintings acquired by the museum in 1959 but never previously exhibited. Once thought to be Tibetan, new research has shown that the paintings were actually a product of Imperial Chinese workshops commissioned for a major political event of the time - the emperor's 70th birthday in 1780. The paintings are crowned by images of Amitayus, the Bodhisattva or "enlightened being" of Limitless Life, flanked by attendants holding symbols of high rank. It is believed these paintings are dedicated to longevity rituals.

"Until recently, all of the objects on view in this exhibition were identified as Tibetan, because of their Tibetan-Buddhist subject matter," said Katherine Paul, assistant curator of Indian and Himalayan Art. "However, current research reveals these pieces to have Mongol or Manchu affiliations, providing a clearer understanding of the elaborate artistic, religious and political exchanges between these three cultures."

In addition to the longevity deities that appear in the two majestic "birthday" paintings, a number of other works from this period will be displayed from the museum's collection portraying imagery devoted to long life, particularly the figure of Amitayus, whose likeness was frequently given as a diplomatic gift, wishing long life to both the giver and receiver.

The use of red paint and inset stones on a silver sculpture of Amitayus is typical of works produced in Dolonnor, the thriving Nineteenth Century sculpture center located in what is current-day Inner Mongolia. A bronze image of White Tara, Goddess of Compassion, was among the first Tibetan-Buddhist works to enter the museum's collection and is perhaps the largest statue from Dolonnor in any American collection.

Also showing from May 7 through October, in the William P. Wood Gallery (227), is "Book Art of India," an exploration of the exquisite "miniature paintings" of the Indian subcontinent that are often seen framed on museum walls yet were originally created as individual pages of much larger illustrated manuscripts and series. This exhibition of 29 painted folios, bound books and book covers, as well as objects such as pen boxes and inkwells, provides a detailed view of the region's rich tradition of book production and illustration.

"Not only do these books differ in their choices of texts and in their painting styles, but they also exploit a host of options for the proportions and orientation of pages and for the materials and techniques used to bind or hold those pages together," said Darielle Mason, The Stella Kramrisch Curator of Indian and Himalayan Art. "Even more fascinating are the many ways artists devised to integrate words with images on the same page, making them into visual complements and powerful story-telling partners."

Among the objects on view is a steel amulet with gold overlay, shaped like a leather-bound book. This tiny case (13/4 by 11/2 by 1/2 inches) was made to hold a miniature, handwritten edition of the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam. The technique of gold-on-steel was used in both Iran and India, especially for weaponry, and became popular for all types of decorative metal items by the Seventeenth Century. A similar technique is seen in a pen box from Pakistan, aptly inscribed with the Qur'anic verse called "The Pen."

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street. For information, 215-763-8100 or www.philamuseum.org.