Tabo - Gods of Light: The Indo-Tibetan Masterpiece Hardcover – 19 Jan. 2015

The quality the photographs and of the publication in general are excellent especially for this price. It makes a happy change to the numbing prices charged by many for similar publications. For the photographs alone, this is to be reccommended. The erudition which underpoines the book is a welcome bonus. Ladakh or Zanskar next?

This is a stunning book. Glorious photos of early Tibetan Buddhist art, including many close-up photos of highlights. Detailed explanations. Both the book and the monastery are sublimely beautiful. A triumph.

To me, "TABO - GODS OF LIGHT: The Indo-Tibetan Masterpiece", my twelfth international book publication, is, without a doubt, my personal masterpiece. Having researched this ancient-most Tibetan monastery that has been preserved unaltered from the 11th century for 25 years now I feel very much privileged and lucky having been able to document each and every inch of the site for years. The pictorial documentation amounting 406 images in the book, many of which are full, one and a half or double pages, has been mostly furnished in medium format slides. It reveals many unknown aspects of the temple art and presents murals that have never been seen before. The highlight of the pictorial presentation is a double page spread amounting 112 cm which shows the sculptural alignment of statues in Tabo's main assembly hall which is correlated to explanatory line drawings and tables explaining the iconography of the sculptures. All displayed art works are correlated to the respective original textual sources. Thus, e.g. the pictorial narratives seen in Tabo's Tsug Lhakhang may now be understood in depth. Also the wall paintings and sculptures are identified iconographically. Uncertainties are discussed in endnotes in order not to disrupt the textual flow.Text-wise this book accumulates in compact form all relevant bits and pieces of information and research results that have been published in scientific journals and symposium proceedings over the last 25 years since the last books on Tabo came out (this author "The Forgotten Gods of Tibet" and Deborah Klimburg-Salter "Tabo - A Lamp for the Kingdom"). In addition, however, it exceeds this state of research by adding entirely new information on many a topic. e.g. for the first time ever the architectural mandala concept of Tabo's main temple, the Tsug Lhakhang, is examined in depth by architect Gerald Kozicz who has been adding magnificent line drawings on various topics that help a great deal in understanding the iconography of various subjects. Also the magnificent and art historically most important wall paintings found in the other temples of Tabo are shown as color images and discussed in detail, which up to date has never been aimed at. A juxtaposition of the oldest historic photographs (Francke expedition 1909) and contemporary images sheds light on continuity and change in artistic design.Needless to say the historic and geographical background of the monastic establishment is dealt with in separate chapters.I would be grateful if this book succeeds in portraying the magnificent art of Tabo to many interested readers and would leave them as happy as I am having worked on this book!