Book overview
A remarkable selection of pan-Asian Buddhist art, showcasing the history and diversity of Buddhist schools with examples across sculptures, textiles, reliquaries, manuscripts and more
Published with Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
This gloriously illustrated celebration of Buddhist art addresses the development of Buddhism and its visual language over a period of nearly 2,000 years, as the faith traveled across Asia and was embraced by diverse cultures. Realms of the Dharma brings together more than 200 works of Buddhist art from India, mainland and island Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, Central Asia and East Asia. The book is divided into seven chapters, beginning with an introduction to Buddhism and Buddhist art, followed by chapters on South Asia, Southeast Asia, Nepal and Tibet, China, Korea and Japan. The artworks, all from the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), offer a broad perspective on the birth of Buddhism in South Asia and its spread throughout the continent over centuries. The artworks include a stunning and diverse range of Buddhas, stupas and reliquaries, religious manuscripts, paintings and sculptures depicting various Buddhist deities, portraits of Buddhist masters and other ritual objects. The remarkably successful expansion of Buddhism was in part due to the ability of its principles to be adapted to and assimilated within a range of preexisting belief systems. Gorgeously illustrated with over 250 color reproductions of these exemplary artworks and religious objects, this book celebrates that achievement.