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Papers by Laura A . Weinstein

This article is an examination of three 18th-19th century Tibetan thangka paintings in the Chazen... more This article is an examination of three 18th-19th century Tibetan thangka paintings in the Chazen Museum collection through the lens of a Tibetan soteriological-aesthetic-ritual category “sku rten” or “bodily support.” Herein, I argue that viewing the thangkas as sku rten allows us to understand how Tibetan Buddhists construct not just “sight” or seeing but also (drawing on work on religion and visual culture by David Morgan) “vision,” a category of perception that includes consideration of the power structures and relationships in which religious art is embedded. As sku rten, the paintings not only serve as meditational tools for religious viewers to learn to envision or embody deities and ultimately non-dualism, they also model for viewers how to transform themselves into sku rten or bodily support for achieving these soteriological aims. I examine the three successive levels of sku rten and accompanying texts (sadhana) and rituals through reference to the three paintings: analyzing their imagery, consecration inscriptions and other historical evidence and suggesting how they may have been used and viewed by practitioners. The larger theoretical point of the thesis is to argue for understanding these Tibetan sku rten practices as a “soteriology of the senses,” joining with Robert Orsi’s contentions about religion as embedded in networks of relationships and the body.

Books by Laura A . Weinstein

Deities Unveiled: Himalayan Art from the Collection of Dr. John Loomis, 2022

[Publisher's description:] "Text by Laura A. Weinstein and Introduction by Dr. Robert A. F. Thurm... more [Publisher's description:] "Text by Laura A. Weinstein and Introduction by Dr. Robert A. F. Thurman. This ground-breaking, lavishly illustrated, hard-bound volume on the private collection of Dr. John N. Loomis takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the Himalayas with a particular focus on sculpture from the 7th through 19th centuries. These museum-quality works were created by highly-skilled artists and ateliers commissioned by patrons of monasteries and temples throughout Tibet, Nepal, and India. This highly personal collection was assembled over many decades by a passionate collector who embraced the quality and spirituality of these beautiful works of art and has enjoyed living with them for most of his long life."

Incarnations of Devotion, 2021

Kapoor Galleries March 2021 Catalogue

God/ Goddess, 2020

Kapoor Galleries, Inc. Asia Week NY 2020 Catalog

Conference Presentations by Laura A . Weinstein

IATS Prague, 2022

Since the 1990’s, an ever-growing corpus of metal statues has been identified as of Khaśa Malla o... more Since the 1990’s, an ever-growing corpus of metal statues has been identified as of Khaśa Malla origin and a “new” style of Himalayan art thus branded. The term Khaśa Malla refers to a trans-Himalayan empire known from Tibetan historical sources as Yatse (Tib. ya rtse). Between the twelfth and the fourteenth century, this relatively overlooked polity held sway over central and western Nepal, and probably parts of Uttarakhand and south-western Tibet. The seat of their power is usually located in the Karnali basin of west Nepal, in Dullu (Dailekh district) and in Sinja (Jumla district). The latter had been broadly recognized as the Tibetan kingdom of Yatse.
The Khaśa Malla emperors supported Buddhist institutions from Tibet to Bodhgaya, and frequently visited the Kathmandu valley, be it for religious purposes, or for plunder. Their names also appear in inscriptions as patrons of Hinduism. Authors have perceived these patronages in very different ways: while some have ignored or minimized the Hindu or the Buddhist affiliation of the Khaśa Mallas, others have considered it as a sign of the ruler’s religious pluralism.
The archaeological landscape of west Nepal, at the heart of the Khaśa Malla polity, reveals a unique cultural heritage, spanning from the twelfth to the seventeenth century. Latina temples (also called śikhara or deval), stone memorial pillars, water reservoirs, fountains, stūpas and, very occasionally, stone sculptures, show a great variety of styles. Monuments and artefacts testify the passage or the influence of artists from north and north-western India, mainly from Rajasthan-Gujarat and from nearby Uttarakhand. Stone statues were also imported directly from these regions.
In this context, the identification of a Khaśa Malla style of metal statuary, deserves close attention. As our presentation will show, the metal sculptures considered so far are largely taken out of context; chiefly, the style of the statuary is not contextualized with contemporary creations from west Nepal and their provenances remain unknown (a very few exceptions from Dolpa can be mentioned). Moreover, a foundational premise for attributing these metal sculptures to the Karnali Basin has been the presence of a “proto-Nepali” or “Devanāgarī” script utilized in inscribing the names of royal patrons on select examples from this milieu. We will demonstrate that this premise is unreliable.
Thus, the aim of our presentation is to propose a general reassessment of the Khaśa Malla metal statuary, based on an archaeological field investigation; what we know of the ruling and religious practices of the Khaśa Mallas based on Newar and Tibetan chronicles; and close comparisons between the iconography and stylistic markers to paintings and sculptures created in the surrounding regions of India, Nepal, and Tibet.

This article is an examination of three 18th-19th century Tibetan thangka paintings in the Chazen... more This article is an examination of three 18th-19th century Tibetan thangka paintings in the Chazen Museum collection through the lens of a Tibetan soteriological-aesthetic-ritual category “sku rten” or “bodily support.” Herein, I argue that viewing the thangkas as sku rten allows us to understand how Tibetan Buddhists construct not just “sight” or seeing but also (drawing on work on religion and visual culture by David Morgan) “vision,” a category of perception that includes consideration of the power structures and relationships in which religious art is embedded. As sku rten, the paintings not only serve as meditational tools for religious viewers to learn to envision or embody deities and ultimately non-dualism, they also model for viewers how to transform themselves into sku rten or bodily support for achieving these soteriological aims. I examine the three successive levels of sku rten and accompanying texts (sadhana) and rituals through reference to the three paintings: analyzing their imagery, consecration inscriptions and other historical evidence and suggesting how they may have been used and viewed by practitioners. The larger theoretical point of the thesis is to argue for understanding these Tibetan sku rten practices as a “soteriology of the senses,” joining with Robert Orsi’s contentions about religion as embedded in networks of relationships and the body.

Deities Unveiled: Himalayan Art from the Collection of Dr. John Loomis, 2022

[Publisher's description:] "Text by Laura A. Weinstein and Introduction by Dr. Robert A. F. Thurm... more [Publisher's description:] "Text by Laura A. Weinstein and Introduction by Dr. Robert A. F. Thurman. This ground-breaking, lavishly illustrated, hard-bound volume on the private collection of Dr. John N. Loomis takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the Himalayas with a particular focus on sculpture from the 7th through 19th centuries. These museum-quality works were created by highly-skilled artists and ateliers commissioned by patrons of monasteries and temples throughout Tibet, Nepal, and India. This highly personal collection was assembled over many decades by a passionate collector who embraced the quality and spirituality of these beautiful works of art and has enjoyed living with them for most of his long life."

Incarnations of Devotion, 2021

Kapoor Galleries March 2021 Catalogue

God/ Goddess, 2020

Kapoor Galleries, Inc. Asia Week NY 2020 Catalog

IATS Prague, 2022

Since the 1990’s, an ever-growing corpus of metal statues has been identified as of Khaśa Malla o... more Since the 1990’s, an ever-growing corpus of metal statues has been identified as of Khaśa Malla origin and a “new” style of Himalayan art thus branded. The term Khaśa Malla refers to a trans-Himalayan empire known from Tibetan historical sources as Yatse (Tib. ya rtse). Between the twelfth and the fourteenth century, this relatively overlooked polity held sway over central and western Nepal, and probably parts of Uttarakhand and south-western Tibet. The seat of their power is usually located in the Karnali basin of west Nepal, in Dullu (Dailekh district) and in Sinja (Jumla district). The latter had been broadly recognized as the Tibetan kingdom of Yatse.
The Khaśa Malla emperors supported Buddhist institutions from Tibet to Bodhgaya, and frequently visited the Kathmandu valley, be it for religious purposes, or for plunder. Their names also appear in inscriptions as patrons of Hinduism. Authors have perceived these patronages in very different ways: while some have ignored or minimized the Hindu or the Buddhist affiliation of the Khaśa Mallas, others have considered it as a sign of the ruler’s religious pluralism.
The archaeological landscape of west Nepal, at the heart of the Khaśa Malla polity, reveals a unique cultural heritage, spanning from the twelfth to the seventeenth century. Latina temples (also called śikhara or deval), stone memorial pillars, water reservoirs, fountains, stūpas and, very occasionally, stone sculptures, show a great variety of styles. Monuments and artefacts testify the passage or the influence of artists from north and north-western India, mainly from Rajasthan-Gujarat and from nearby Uttarakhand. Stone statues were also imported directly from these regions.
In this context, the identification of a Khaśa Malla style of metal statuary, deserves close attention. As our presentation will show, the metal sculptures considered so far are largely taken out of context; chiefly, the style of the statuary is not contextualized with contemporary creations from west Nepal and their provenances remain unknown (a very few exceptions from Dolpa can be mentioned). Moreover, a foundational premise for attributing these metal sculptures to the Karnali Basin has been the presence of a “proto-Nepali” or “Devanāgarī” script utilized in inscribing the names of royal patrons on select examples from this milieu. We will demonstrate that this premise is unreliable.
Thus, the aim of our presentation is to propose a general reassessment of the Khaśa Malla metal statuary, based on an archaeological field investigation; what we know of the ruling and religious practices of the Khaśa Mallas based on Newar and Tibetan chronicles; and close comparisons between the iconography and stylistic markers to paintings and sculptures created in the surrounding regions of India, Nepal, and Tibet.