Tibetan Painted Scrolls by Tucci, Giuseppe - 1999

Bangkok: SDI, 1999. A new edition of Tucci's seminal work on Tibetan Buddhist painting, first published in 1949, original copies of which have long been unobtainable. Based on his prodigious linguistic skills and pioneering field research throughout the Himalayan kingdoms, Tucci virtually rewrote the history of Tibetan Buddhist painting with the original post-war edition of this book and created a foundation upon which all later historical studies, particularly on western Tibet and Nepal, now stand. Tucci commences the study (text vol. I) with surveys on the literature, lineages and traditions of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism and supplements this with descriptions of a number of major Tibetan monastic complexes which no longer survive, as a result of the ravages of Mao's Cultural Revolution. He then explores the thangka painting tradition in detail, covering such topics as origins, evolution, symbolism, iconometry, consecration ceremonies, as well as artistic influences from neighbouring Nepal and China. The second part of the study (text vol. II) includes detailed analyses of the 195 thangkas illustrated in some 256 plates in the folio volume, and includes many insightful essays on such topics as regional variations on painting style, the lives of early Buddhist saints and Jataka tales. The publisher of this new edition expended much effort in tracing many of Tucci's original examples to their present-day locations in Western institutional and private collections, and obtaining new colour images of these masterpieces. Thus, while the 1949 edition illustrated only 25 of the total 256 folio plates in colour, the present publication presents some 80 additional colour images of paintings, replacing their monochrome counterparts in the original edition. Two text volumes: v, 798 pp. total, including 134 b&w plates, lineage charts, index, 33 x 25 cm. Folio volume: 256 full page plates. 95 color, 161 b&w, 46 x 34 cm. All three volumes are bound in handsome gold stamped bonded leather; edition is limited to 500 sets only. (PLEASE NOTE - This set is heavy and oversize and will require significant additional postage. Please write for postage quotation.) . Limited second edition.. Hard Cover. New. 33 x 25 cm.; folio 46 x 34 cm..