Exhibit Marks First Time Art From Dalai Lama’s Residences are Unveiled in Western World
SANTA ANA, Calif., March 13 – Rare and sacred treasures of Tibetan, never before seen in the Western World, will begin a national tour at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in October 2003.
The landmark exhibit, which is dubbed “Tibet! Treasures from the Roof of the World,” will feature more than 200 priceless objects drawn exclusively from collections in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa and from the Dalai Lama’s magnificent winter and summer residential palaces in Potala and Norbulingka, as well as the Tibet Museum.
Stunning examples of Tibetan sculpture, paintings and textiles, as well as ritual Buddhist objects and beautifully crafted pieces made from Tibetan nobility, reveal both the religious underpinnings of this great world culture and the exceptional nature of the arts.
“Tibet! Treasures from the Roof of the World” has been organized by the Bowers Museum and will embark on a national tour after it closes at the world famous Orange County, California museum in May 2004.
The landmark exhibit is part of a historic agreement signed by Bowers Museum President Peter C. Keller and the Cultural Administration of Tibet. The agreement culminated more than 18 months of intense negotiations with Tibetan and Chinese officials to secure the loan of the valuable and rare treasures.
“They are objects that are at the center of myths and legends found in the 1,000-room Potala Palace, which was built in the 1600s by the fifth Dali Lama,” Keller says.
Located at the crossroads of Central Asia, Tibet has long interacted with her neighbors, importing Buddhism from India in the 7th century and developing diplomatic relations with the Mongol, Manchu and Chinese courts shortly thereafter. Tibetans transformed the various outside influences into a truly unique culture that combines Buddhist ideals of moral behavior with cosmopolitan taste in art.
The exceptional objects for “Tibet! Treasures from the Roof of the World” have a close relationship with the Dalai Lama and members of the nobility, and represent the finest art ever made in Tibet and for its leaders.
(Bowers Museum of Cultural Art)
