Encompassing masterpieces of Tibetan furniture design and decoration in all its forms, the 148 exhibits are drawn from the large group of public and private collections in the western United States, the result of an active interest in the preservation and research of this long overlooked Tibetan art form.
This particular catalogue does not merely follow the genre’s traditional format but seeks to communicate both the aesthetic significance of these exceptional works of art and the important role they have played over the centuries in the daily and spiritual lives of the people of Tibet. The works in the exhibition, therefore, were selected both for their aesthetic and historical importance, and most are being publicly displayed for the first time. All are lavishly illustrated in color, and each is accompanied by details of type, date (supported in several cases by Carbon 14 testing), dimensions and description of decoration and materials.