Tibetan Exhibition Draws Criticism (Berlin)
BERLIN -- A new exhibit of Tibetan art in Berlin offers a rare chance to see treasures from ancient Buddhist monasteries, but is also being criticized as whitewashing China's treatment of Tibet's ancient culture.
Curator Jeong-hee Lee-Kalisch said the exhibit at the Museum of Asian Art was a unique opportunity to see masterpieces that are not found in other museums.
"There has never been an exhibition in which the objects came directly from the monasteries in central Tibet. In that sense, this is a world premiere," Lee-Kalisch said.
The exhibit, which runs through May 28, consists of about 150 works, many of which have never left Tibet. They were gathered from the collections of five monasteries, two museums, the now-exiled Dalai Lama's Potala Palace in Lhasa and his summer palace in Norbulingka.
The objects date from the fifth century to the early 20th century and include statues, paintings, sacred wall hangings and ceremonial objects. The oldest work on display is a bronze statuette of Buddha Shakyamuni believed to have been made in China in 473. Among the most impressive, however, are 10 near-life-size statues of gilded copper depicting important historical figures in Tibetan Buddhism that greet visitors as they enter the exhibit, with alternately fierce or serene gazes.
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Curator Jeong-hee Lee-Kalisch said the exhibit at the Museum of Asian Art was a unique opportunity to see masterpieces that are not found in other museums.
"There has never been an exhibition in which the objects came directly from the monasteries in central Tibet. In that sense, this is a world premiere," Lee-Kalisch said.
The exhibit, which runs through May 28, consists of about 150 works, many of which have never left Tibet. They were gathered from the collections of five monasteries, two museums, the now-exiled Dalai Lama's Potala Palace in Lhasa and his summer palace in Norbulingka.
The objects date from the fifth century to the early 20th century and include statues, paintings, sacred wall hangings and ceremonial objects. The oldest work on display is a bronze statuette of Buddha Shakyamuni believed to have been made in China in 473. Among the most impressive, however, are 10 near-life-size statues of gilded copper depicting important historical figures in Tibetan Buddhism that greet visitors as they enter the exhibit, with alternately fierce or serene gazes.