TIBETAN BUDDHIST SMITH COLLEGE SCHOLAR DEITIES PHOTOGRAPHS Archives,Asia,Color Photos,Snapshots

Over 2600 photographs of cultural and religious sites, art, paintings, and sculptures made in ancient Imperial China, Tibet, and India from the 6th-17th centuries make up this impressive collection. These photographs are kept in binders, in manila folders, in boxes, and glued to index cards. Nearly every photograph is identified with location, artist, or era. ??Marylin Rhie was a scholar of Buddhist art who professed at Smith College and published on the subject, including a book by the name of Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet. Rhie kept her work neat and orderly. The photographs and collected materials were made and compiled between 1960-2000. ??Between two archival boxes are photographs of Chinese landscape paintings spanning many centuries and dynasties alike. Some Japanese artists are also contained in the boxes. Over 1000 images are preserved in these boxes. These photos of landscape paintings and portraits are organized by dynasty and artist. The boxes are categorized like soL Northern Song Dynasty (960 - 1126) holds Kuang T ung, Hsü Tao-ning, Li Sung among others. South Song Dynasty (1127-1279) Hua Tsung, Ma Lin, Wang She, anonymous and assorted artists. Yuan Dynasty (1272-1368) Wu Chen, Shang Mou, Wang Meng. One entire box is dedicated to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) including artists Wu Wei, Hsia Chang, and Tang Yin.??Five assorted binders contain images of paintings made of crushed mineral on cloth, limestone and bronze sculptures, and photocopied images. These binders cohere research for her book Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, co-written with Robert "Bob" Thurman. At the back of one binder is a note written to Bob regarding diskettes and editing the research, written June 13, 1990. ?One binder is dedicated to Cosmic Boddhisatvas. In the binders, Rhie made notes in black marker on the plastic sheath which covered the images. She circled important sections of paintings and made notes such as "enlightenment" or "death". The depicted deities are all identified by Rhie, as well as the museum or collection within which the artifact is kept. Institutions named throughout include the Ford Collection, the Ellsworth Collection, Zimmerman, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Victoria & Albery Museum, the Musée Guimet, and the Taiwan Historical Museum, amidst others. Images extend beyond photos of ancient arts and paintings, to religious bronze sculptures, limestone cave statues, Buddhist devotional sites, and dislocated artifacts exhibited in museums. Gorgeous photographs were made of the Xiangtangshan cave temple (devotional sites) which house limestone carvings from the 6th century (During the Northern Qi Dynasty). The work is mesmerizing and peaceful while reaching from an ancient world. ? Two boxes of loose images are catalogued in a variety of ways: Medieval Bronzes North India, Mauryan (sculptures), medieval Jaina bronzes, Khajuraho 8th-14th c. India, Rajistan, Orissa, Pallava-Chola, Amaravati, Bharhut, Gupta (General), This assorted collection of photographs of Buddhist art and ritual space is systematically organized, neat, and well maintained. All is in good condition.