Mostly unknown to the outside world, the temples and storerooms of Tibet’s monasteries shelter a great number of ancient Buddhist objects. Not only are there a great number of Buddhist sculptures and paintings produced by Tibetan artists, but included also are rare examples originating from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Burma, and China. These images have withstood sometimes more than one thousand years of warfare and other calamities.
Despite a growing number of books dealing with various aspects of Tibetan culture and religion, most publications have the shortcoming that they are almost exclusively illustrated with objects scattered worldwide in private and public collections. A notable exception is the two-volume chronicle Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, published in 2001 by this author. However, it is monumental in scale and there is a need for a more affordable condensed edition.