Masks of the Himalayas

This is the first book dedicated exclusively to the subject of the Himalayan mask. Mysterious, sacred, and unusual, the masks of the Himalayas only recently arrived in the West. Unlike African or Oceanic masks, whose discovery by early twentieth-century artists altered the conception of art by their influence on Cubism, Himalayan masks only became accessible to collectors following the opening up of Nepal in the 1960s. Spanning all religious influences in the Himalayan region—Hindu and Buddhist, animist and shamanic—and covering the entire area from Ladakh to Indian Kashmir, Nepal, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet, this is the first book dedicated exclusively to this subject.An unprecedented overview, the book units more than 200 extraordinary pieces. Published in conjunction with a major exhibition at the Fondation Bernard et Caroline de Watteville in Martigny, Switzerland, Masks of the Himalayas highlights pieces of rare quality and sheds new light on this enchanting art.