Art of Merit

A collection of 28 papers from the 2012 Buddhist Art Forum at The Courtauld Institute, to offer a comprehensive exploration of Buddhist art-its creation, function, conservation, and contemporary relevance. Contributors include art historians, conservators, curators, religious practitioners, and artists. Topics span from early Indian stupas to modern Himalayan thangkas, ritual use, tourism, and Western artistic influence. Richly illustrated, the book presents diverse perspectives that deepen cross-cultural understanding of Buddhist art across time and place.

Buddhist art – its nature, creation, function, conservation and contemporary manifestations – was the subject of the Buddhist Art Forum, a major conference held at The Courtauld Institute of Art in 2012 and sponsored by The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation. For the first time a representative group of those with a stake in Buddhist art – including art historians, conservators, curators and officials, a monk from Nepal and a contemporary artist – was gathered to address these issues. The twenty-eight papers in this resulting ground-breaking volume consider Buddhist art from the earliest Indian stupas to contemporary Himalayan thangkas, as well as its ritual use and audience, its tourist consumption in expanding economies, its often ill-conceived conservation, and its influence on modern and contemporary Western art. A stimulating range of viewpoints is expressed in this lavishly illustrated volume, making a genuine contribution to the awareness and understanding of these issues and developments that goes beyond regional and specialist boundaries.

1 Presenting the Buddha: images, conventions, and significance in early Indian Buddhism Juhyung Rhi

2 Buddha's stupa and image: in search of the ultimate icon Tadeusz Skorupski

3 Rhetoric of Reward, ideologies of inducement: why produce Buddhist 'art'? Peter Skilling

4 Art in the dark: the ritual context of Buddhist caves in western China Robert Sharf

5 Painted and architectural ornamentation of the temples of Pagan: more than mere iconography and decoration Claudine Bautze-Picron

6 The problem of authenticity: a historical geography of Buddhist art in eighteenth-century China Patricia Berger

7 The oracle and temple of Lamochok: aspects of history and iconography Matthew Kapstein

8 The wailing arhats: Buddhism, photography and resistance in modern China Francesca Tarocco

9 Conserving the Buddhist wall paintings of Bamiyan in Afghanistan: practical issues and dilemmas Yoko Taniguchi

10 Buddhist wall paintings in context: the foundation for future scholarship Susan Whitfield

11 Dunhuang Grotto Buddhist art and its preventative conservation Wang Xudong

12 Applying the China Principles: The Getty Conservation Institute's work at Dunhuang and Chengde in China Lori Wong, Martha Demas and Neville Agnew

13 Conservation and research in Buddhist art from an art-historical perspective Christian Luczanits

14 Sumda Chun and other early Buddhist wall painting in Ladakh: practical and ethical conservation issues from to failing structures to obscuring surface layers Charlotte Martin de Fonjaudran, Sreekumar Menon and Maninder Singh Gill

15 Relationship of conservation to the functions of monuments, with reference to Buddhism in Bhutan Dorjee Tshering

16 Buddhist wall paintings of Bhutan: material traditions and conservation realities Lisa Shekede and Stephen Rickerby

17 A new image of the Mahasiddha Virupa: a major addition to the corpus of early fifteenth-century bronzes John Clarke

18 A new image of the Mahasiddha Virupa: technical investigations and conservation Diana Heath

19 The Buddha and his brothers: expressions of power, place and community by the network of Mahamuni images of Arakan, Bangladesh and Burma Pyi Phyo Kyaw and Kate Crosby

20 Buddhist strategies of keeping its sacred images and shrines alive: the example of the Svayambhu caitya of Kathmandu Alexander von Rospatt

21 Materiality of devotion: Tibetan Buddhist shrines of the western Himalayas Melissa R. Kerin

22 The pilgrimage to Bangajang: a devotional circuit in the eastern Himalayas Richard Blurton

23 Sacred art: on the path to wisdom and compassion Matthieu Ricard

24 Re-inscribing Mount Myohyang: from the Pohyon Temple to the International Friendship Exhibition Marsha Haufler

25 Why collect Tibetan art? Alice Kandell

26 Buddhist art in an Ando building Francesca Consagra

27 Revisiting The Third Mind: Buddhist imaginary in American art Alexandra Munroe

28 'Sculpture of mindfulness' Antony Gormley,

1 Presenting the Buddha: images, conventions, and significance in early Indian Buddhism Juhyung Rhi

2 Buddha's stupa and image: in search of the ultimate icon Tadeusz Skorupski

3 Rhetoric of Reward, ideologies of inducement: why produce Buddhist 'art'? Peter Skilling

4 Art in the dark: the ritual context of Buddhist caves in western China Robert Sharf

5 Painted and architectural ornamentation of the temples of Pagan: more than mere iconography and decoration Claudine Bautze-Picron

6 The problem of authenticity: a historical geography of Buddhist art in eighteenth-century China Patricia Berger

7 The oracle and temple of Lamochok: aspects of history and iconography Matthew Kapstein

8 The wailing arhats: Buddhism, photography and resistance in modern China Francesca Tarocco

9 Conserving the Buddhist wall paintings of Bamiyan in Afghanistan: practical issues and dilemmas Yoko Taniguchi

10 Buddhist wall paintings in context: the foundation for future scholarship Susan Whitfield

11 Dunhuang Grotto Buddhist art and its preventative conservation Wang Xudong

12 Applying the China Principles: The Getty Conservation Institute’s work at Dunhuang and Chengde in China Lori Wong, Martha Demas and Neville Agnew

13 Conservation and research in Buddhist art from an art-historical perspective Christian Luczanits

14 Sumda Chun and other early Buddhist wall painting in Ladakh: practical and ethical conservation issues from to failing structures to obscuring surface layers Charlotte Martin de Fonjaudran, Sreekumar Menon and Maninder Singh Gill

15 Relationship of conservation to the functions of monuments, with reference to Buddhism in Bhutan Dorjee Tshering

16 Buddhist wall paintings of Bhutan: material traditions and conservation realities Lisa Shekede and Stephen Rickerby

17 A new image of the Mahasiddha Virupa: a major addition to the corpus of early fifteenth-century bronzes John Clarke

18 A new image of the Mahasiddha Virupa: technical investigations and conservation Diana Heath

19 The Buddha and his brothers: expressions of power, place and community by the network of Mahamuni images of Arakan, Bangladesh and Burma Pyi Phyo Kyaw and Kate Crosby

20 Buddhist strategies of keeping its sacred images and shrines alive: the example of the Svayambhu caitya of Kathmandu Alexander von Rospatt

21 Materiality of devotion: Tibetan Buddhist shrines of the western Himalayas Melissa R. Kerin

22 The pilgrimage to Bangajang: a devotional circuit in the eastern Himalayas Richard Blurton

23 Sacred art: on the path to wisdom and compassion Matthieu Ricard

24 Re-inscribing Mount Myohyang: from the Pohyon Temple to the International Friendship Exhibition Marsha Haufler

25 Why collect Tibetan art? Alice Kandell

26 Buddhist art in an Ando building Francesca Consagra

27 Revisiting The Third Mind: Buddhist imaginary in American art Alexandra Munroe

28 ‘Sculpture of mindfulness’ Antony Gormley

• Edited by David Park
• Edited by Kuenga Wangmo
• Edited by Sharon Cather

"Art of Merit remains one of the most comprehensive volumes on not only Buddhist art but also the philosophy of Buddhist art." Buddhistdoor International "This comprehensive and exceptional volume comprising twenty eight papers cannot fail, I feel, to appeal to all of an enquiring mind. [...] What makes this volume stand out is the fact that it enables one to see the role of conservation within the wider context of history, art, faith, artefact care and administration at all levels. Interesting and rewarding." ICON News - July 2014 "Voici un beau volume, abondamment illustre, qui reunit 29 etudes sur l'art du bouddhisme et sur sa conservation, presentees lors d'un colloque organise ALondres en avril 2012 par le Courtauld Institute of Arts et The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation. [...] Il s'agit d'une reconsideration globale de l'art bouddhique Atravers des exemples choisis dans plusieurs des cultures ou il s'est developpe, d'une sorte d'essai multiforme de definition, allant de la nature de la representation A la fonction de l'oeuvre, voire au rituel qui la cree et l'accompagne, assortie d'analyses plus traditionnelles, mais aussi de questions sur le sort qui lui est reserve, ce qui implique la desacralisation, le reemploi ou la destruction aussi bien que les methodes de conservation, et meme l'influence ou l'echo qu'il a dans l'art occidental contemporain." Revue d'Etudes Tibetaines - No. 30, October 2014
—

Art of Merit remains one of the most comprehensive volumes on not only Buddhist art but also the philosophy of Buddhist art.

—

This comprehensive and exceptional volume comprising twenty eight papers cannot fail, I feel, to appeal to all of an enquiring mind. [...] What makes this volume stand out is the fact that it enables one to see the role of conservation within the wider context of history, art, faith, artefact care and administration at all levels. Interesting and rewarding.

—

Voici un beau volume, abondamment illustré, qui réunit 29 études sur l'art du bouddhisme et sur sa conservation, présentées lors d'un colloque organisé à Londres en avril 2012 par le Courtauld Institute of Arts et The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation. [...] Il s'agit d'une reconsidération globale de l'art bouddhique à travers des exemples choisis dans plusieurs des cultures où il s'est développé, d'une sorte d'essai multiforme de définition, allant de la nature de la représentation à la fonction de l'œuvre, voire au rituel qui la crée et l'accompagne, assortie d'analyses plus traditionnelles, mais aussi de questions sur le sort qui lui est réservé, ce qui implique la désacralisation, le réemploi ou la destruction aussi bien que les méthodes de conservation, et même l'influence ou l'écho qu'il a dans l'art occidental contemporain.

—