Tibetan opera

UNESCO CULTURAL HERITAGE 
Tibetan opera, the most popular traditional opera of minority ethnic groups in China, is a comprehensive art combining folk song, dance, storytelling, chant, acrobatics and religious performance. Most popular in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in western China, the performance begins with a prayer ceremony, including the cleansing of the stage by hunters and blessings by the elder, and concludes with another blessing. The heart of the opera is a drama narrated by a single speaker and enacted by performers supported by groups of singers, dancers and acrobats. Actors wear traditional masks of a variety of shapes and colours that contrast with their simple makeup. Performances may take place in public squares or temples (or, today, on stage), with the centre of the space marked by a tree placed on the ground, wrapped in colourful paper and surrounded by purified water and theatrical props. Rooted in Buddhist teachings, the stories told in Tibetan opera recount the triumph of good and the punishment of evil and therefore serve a social teaching function for the community. This multifaceted representative of Tibetan art and cultural heritage also acts as a bridge among Tibetans in different parts of the country, promoting ethnic unity and pride.
Inscribed in 2009 (4.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity


© Text: UNESCO, Image: Tibetan Troupe

Regong arts

UNESCO CULTURAL HERITAGE 
In monasteries and villages along the Longwu River basin in Qinghai Province in western China, Buddhist monks and folk artists of the Tibetan and Tu ethnicity carry on the plastic arts of painting thangka and murals, crafting patchwork barbola and sculpting known collectively as the Regong arts. Their influence extends to nearby provinces and beyond to South-East Asian countries. Thangka, the art of painting religious scrolls used to venerate Buddha, uses a special brush to apply natural dyes to cloth prepared with patterns sketched in charcoal; barbola employs plant and animal forms cut from silk fabric to create soft relief art for veils and column ornaments; and wood, clay, stone or brick Regong sculpture decorates rafters, wall panels, tea tables and cabinets in both temples and homes. The technique is mainly passed from fathers to children or from masters to apprentices strictly following ancient Buddhist painting books that provide instruction on line and figure drawing, colour matching and pattern design. Characterized by a distinctively Tibetan Buddhist religion style and unique regional features, the Regong arts embody the spiritual history and traditional culture of the region and remain an integral part of the artistic life of people there today
Inscribed in 2009 (4.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
© Text: UNESCO, Image: Qinghai Regong Art Society of China

Gesar Epic Tradition

UNESCO CULTURAL HERITAGE

The ethnic Tibetan, Mongolian and Tu communities in western and northern China share the story of the ancient hero King Gesar, sent to heaven to vanquish monsters, depose the powerful, and aid the weak while unifying disparate tribes. The singers and storytellers who preserve the Gesar epic tradition perform episodes of the vast oral narrative (known as ‘beads on a string’) in alternating passages of prose and verse with numerous regional differences. Tibetan masters carry bronze mirrors and use facial expressions, sound effects and gestures to enhance their singing, while Mongolian performers are accompanied by fiddles and intersperse improvised, melodic singing with musical storytelling and oral narrative. Epic performances, often accompanied by rituals such as offerings and meditation, are embedded in the religious and daily lives of the community. For example, when a child is born, passages about King Gesar’s descent into the world are sung. The hundreds of myths, folktales, ballads and proverbs handed down as part of the tradition not only serve as a form of major entertainment in rural communities but also educate listeners in history, religion, custom, morality and science. A continuing inspiration for thangka painting, Tibetan opera and other art forms, the Gesar epic imbues audiences both young and old with a sense of cultural identity and historical continuity.

Inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

© Text: UNESCO, Image: IEL of CASS

Ethnoflorence blog

BLOGS AND WEBS

Address: http://ethnoflorence.skynetblogs.be/

Name: ETHNOFLORENCE

Theme: Indian and Himalayan folk tribal arts

Date: Since October 2010

Tribal Art Auction at Zemanek-Münster

Auction: 65th Tribal art auction

Date: 28 May 2011

Preview: 21 to 27 May, 10 to 20h, and 28th May, 9 to 13:30h

Place: Auctionhouse Zemanek-Münster, Hörleingasse 3-5, Würzburg, (Germany)

Contact:  info@tribal-art-auktion.de

Webpage:  www.tribal-art-auktion.de

Catalogue: http://www.tribal-art-auktion.de/downloads/catalogue173.pdf

Comments:

65th Tribal art auction

About Zemanek-Münster:

The Zemanek-Münster art auction house in Würzburg has been involved with African art since the beginning of the nineties and it has become Europe's only auction house that specializes exclusively in non-European art.

The company started in 1978 as a small and distinguished antique shop for European art in Würzburg. Its first art auction was held seven years later, initially in rented rooms. In addition to their premises in Würzburg, Zemanek-Münster had been running art auctions for many years in Miltenberg (Frankfurt am Main) and following the reunification of Germany in 1989 in Dresden, the provincial capital of Saxony. In 1992 Zemanek-Münster moved into their premises in the Hörleingasse, Würzburg, an old blacksmith's shop in former times. In the summer of 2007 the auction house was renovated to provide more exhibition space and a new glass roof also considerably improved presentation.

In 1990 Zemanek-Münster was already reacting to emerging changes on the arts market. In 1991 the company started to specialise in non-European art with the separation of the Africa collection belonging to the late artist and great collector Joachim Schlotterbeck, who died in 2007.

The family run company today has eight full-time employees, who are art historians and ethnologists for European art and non-European art. The extended team also includes photographers, layouters and other enthusiastic employees. Their professional qualifications, academic application and the dedication with which auction catalogues are compiled have gained them a high degree of customer trust. The company is now widely regarded for its integrity, reliability and fairness in dealings with bidders and consignors all over the world.

These constant high standards have led to the success of this small, family-run company at an international level. In addition, amicable relationships with both customers and employees and a warm and welcoming atmosphere all form part of the Zemanek-Münster company philosophy and have proved a decisive factor in the success of the art auction house. The future is also in safe hands: David Zemanek, the older son, who grew up surrounded by art and is a qualified art-ethnologist himself, will take over in the future.

Buddhism across Asia

Exhibition: Images and sacred texts, Buddhism across Asia
Dates: 14 October 2010 – 3 April 2011

Opening times: Open daily 10.00–17.30. Open late* on Fridays until 20.30 (last entry 70 minutes before closing)

Place: The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London (UK)

Entrance Fee: Free

About the exhibition:

Through sacred texts, painted scrolls and sculptures from Sri Lanka to Japan, discover the shared traditions of Buddhism – the ‘three gems’.

The exhibition features depictions of the ‘three gems’ from across Asia. The ‘three gems’ consist of the Buddha himself, his teachings (dharma), and the Buddhist community (sangha). Despite regional variations, the ‘three gems’ show remarkable similarities, sometimes across hundreds of years.

Objects featured in the exhibition include exquisite gold sculptures and paintings of the Buddha, beautiful Buddhist texts on palm leaf and paper, and a selection of images of Buddhist monks.

The objects come from across the whole of Asia, including India, China, Mongolia, Tibet, Thailand, Cambodia, Korea and Japan. The earliest objects are from the 1st–2nd century AD, and the latest date to the 20th century.

Many of these objects have never been on display before, making this is a unique opportunity to view rarely-seen items from the British Museum’s collection. Due to the fragility of the paintings and texts, some items in the display will be changed after three months, halfway through the exhibition run.

This exhibition provides an insight into the key elements which hold the Buddhist world together in Asia and, now that Buddhism is a worldwide faith, across the world as a whole.

Webpage: www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/buddhism_across_asia.aspx

© Text and image: British Museum