Collections
Pre-modern art	Zanabazar and his school	Buddhist ritual painting	Other Buddhist arts and images	Miscellaneous painting

The Fine Arts Museum as yet has no presence on the Internet, which is unfortunate, since the collections of Buddhist art in particular are noteworthy. The selection presented here highlights the exquisite sculptures in metal of the school of Zanabazar, the most important religious and political leader in Mongolia in the late 17th century. Other highlights of this selection are from the outstanding collection of scroll paintings or tankas, and the papier-mache masks sculpted for the ritual Tsam dances. In a few instances I do not have full captions.

A useful "Introduction to the Art of Mongolia" is the essay by Terese Tse Bartholomew of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, written to accompany an exhibit held there in 1995. On the “Unique tankas” in the museum, see the brief article in the on-line Mongolia Today.

Images of some of the works may be found in the following:

Tsultem:

• N. Tsultem, Development of the Mongolian National Style Painting “Mongol Zurag” in Brief. Ulan-Bator: State Publishing House, 1986 (in four languages).

Zanabazar:

• Undur Geghen Zanabazar: In commemoration of the 360th anniversary of Undur Geghen Zanabazar, the first Bogdo Zhivzundamba Hutugtu, the Mongolian great enlighener, outstanding spiritual leader and statesman. Ulaanbaatar: Published by the Mongolian National Commission for UNESCO, 1995 (In Mongolian, with summary in English).

For information about the iconography of individual divinities, consult:

Thurman and Rhie:

• Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet. Expanded ed. (NY: Tibet House/Abrams, 1996.