This exhibition is the first comprehensive study of armor, weapons, and equestrian equipment from the Tibetan plateau, a subject that has remained virtually unexplored until now. Many rare or previously unknown examples of helmets, body armor, swords, horse armor, saddles, and stirrups are exhibited and published here for the first time. Dating from the 13th to the 19th century, these objects include some of the finest examples of Himalayan ironwork decorated with gold and silver and extremely rare leatherwork embellished with paint or lacquer.
Himalayan Warriors: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Paperback, 2006, $45.00
Donald J. LaRocca is Curator, Department of Arms and Armor, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. John Clarke is Curator, Department of Asian Art, Victoria and Albert Museum. Amy Heller is a Tibetologist and art historian affiliated with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (Paris). Lozang Jamspal is an Adjunct Professor, Department of Religion, Columbia University.
|
Contents: Warriors of the Himalayas |
|
|
Foreword |
vii |
|
Acknowledgments |
viii |
|
Lenders to the Exhibition |
x |
|
A Note to the Reader about the Use of Tibetan Terms
|
xi |
|
Map |
xii |
|
|
|
|
Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet, by Donald J. LaRocca |
3
|
|
A History of Ironworking in Tibet: Centers of Production, Styles, and Techniques, by John Clarke |
21 |
|
Armor and Weapons in the Iconography of Tibetan Buddhist Deities, by Amy Heller |
35 |
|
The Gonkhang, Temple of the Guardian Deities, by Lozang Jampal |
43 |
|
|
|
|
CATALOGUE |
|
|
Lamellar Armor and Helmets |
51 |
|
Helmets |
68 |
|
Shields |
92 |
|
Horse Armor |
96 |
|
Leather Armor |
116 |
|
Mail and Other Forms of Armor
|
126 |
|
Swords |
146 |
|
Pears, Spearheads, and Miscellaneous Weapons |
174 |
|
Archery Equipment |
187 |
|
Firearms and Accessories |
198 |
|
Saddles and Tack, Stirrups, and Bridles |
214 |
|
|
|
|
Appendixes |
|
|
Excerpts from A Treatise on Worldly Traditions |
253 |
|
Types and Subtypes of Swords, Helmets, and Armor Named in A Treatise on Worldly Traditions |
264 |
|
Tibetan-English Glossary of Arms and Armor Terms |
267 |
|
Radiocarbon Dating Results |
288 |
|
Bibliography |
289 |
|
Index |
299 |
|