Learn about the art of Tibet in this historical overview and image gallery with detailed descriptions, from the collection of the British Museum.

Worship and power struggles, enlightenment and suicide-the 2300 caves and niches filled with Buddhist art at Longmen in China has witnessed it all.The steep limestone cliffs extend for almost a mile and contain approximately 110,000...

This websites answers the question, "What is a Symbol?" Click on the sculptures for a description of the symbols in each work.

The Goddess of the White Umbrella (the Buddhist deity Ushnisha-sitatapatra) is one of many powerful female deities. She manifests her power with her thousand heads, arms, and legs. She has eyes on the palms of each of her hands and soles...

This is a good site for those interested in the different images associated with the Eastern religion, Buddhism. It Specializes in different types of Buddha imagery. Very useful for those studying the integration of art and religion in...

It's amazing how restoration of artwork can really bring it back to life! See how nine Buddhist paintings were drastically changed by restoration viewing their before and after pictures.

This site gives a description of Buddhist Thangka. It also includes many images of the Thangkas, which, when enlarged, have detailed descriptions of them.

Jatakas reached the laity and monks through art, which proved to be a powerful tool in communicating Buddhist tenets and philosophy to a wide public. View examples of their art and read about their famous tales including the Great Monkey...

View an example of a frieze that would have decorated the wall of a Buddhist monument or monastic building. These images told a story to worshipers, essentially reminding them of key moments in the life of the Buddha. This frieze shows...

Some of the earliest depictions of the Buddha reaching enlightenment appear as sculptural friezes on the exterior of sacred Buddhist monuments known as stupas. View pictures of these friezes and read the history of Prince Siddhartha in...

Richly illustrated life of the Buddha, told in a click-through storybook format with an embedded glossary. Includes an interactive tour of the stupa of Amaravati, an early Buddhist shrine, and a matching game designed to instruct players...

Webpage describing a standing bodhisattva made in the Gandhara region of ancient Pakistan and now found in the Kimbell Art Museum. Image of art provided as well as an option of a larger version or a detail viewer that can be navigated....

Buddhism would revolutionize many aspects of Japanese life including music, dance, a new writing system, and above all, elaborate Buddhist art. View a picture of a Buddhist sculpture and read a brief history of Buddhism in Japan.

Series of hyperlinked pages explains the history, construction, and condition of Borobudur, a large Buddhist monument in Indonesia covered in relief carvings and free-standing sculptures of the Buddha.

Interactive presentation explains the many ways that the Buddha is represented in art. Discusses the symbolic nature of his appearance as well as the Buddha's characteristic hand gestures, or mudras.

Mahakala Bramanarupa is one of over 70 different deities of the Mahakala type. These are wrathful deities particularly adept at quelling monsters and overcoming demons, whether they be outer, inner or secret. Some deities, such as...

This Tibetan manuscript is one of the oldest objects in the museum's Tibetan collection. It consists of twenty-two loose pages. The text is written in U-chen script, in pure gold ink, which has been applied on a ground of lapiz lazuli...

A mandala is a schematic diagram that portrays the sacred environment of a particular deity. The mandala is used by practitioners as a guideline for meditation. It helps people visualize the way in which they will restructure the world...

Over the centuries four religious movements in Tibet evolved into the four religious orders of Tibetan Buddhism. These orders are all based on Buddhism from India, but they have different founders and lineages of teachers, prefer...

Penden Lhamo is one of the more wrathful female deities of Buddhism. Among her many roles, she is the special protector of the city of Lhasa, the Gelukpa Order, and the Dalai Lamas of Tibet. She was invited to Tibet in around the...

In this video [3:00] discover Bodh Gaya, one of several sights in India associated with the birth of Buddhism. Learn more about Bodh Gaya on the education.asianart.org.

This is the traditional representation of the Shakyamuni Buddha or the historical Buddha. The statue shows the moment of his enlightenment at a place called Bodh Gaya in India. View a picture of the statue and read the background in this...

This statue depicts the bodhisattva Maitreya. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who postpone their own salvation in order to help all sentient beings. View a picture of this statue and read a description in this essay.

Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who are destined to become buddhas but postpone that final state in order to help humanity. The name Avalokiteshvara means "Lord who looks down with compassion." View an image of a bodhisattva...