Detail: This dynamic loan exhibition of approximately 100 objects of exemplary quality is devoted to the artistic production inspired by sacred sites and the practice of Buddhist pilgrimage in Asia. It will comprise the first comprehensive look at how pilgrimage traditions are related to the development of visual material in Asia. Sacred objects, textiles, sculpture and paintings will introduce the concepts of pilgrimage motivation, ritual preparation, movement and worship at the sacred destination. It will be divided into the sections: The Buddha and Sacred Site, The Journey, Pilgrims and Memory to illuminate the ways in which Buddhist pilgrimage has been a source of inspiration to artists and craftsmen as well as a motivating force for patrons and collectors. Also included are Asian sacred artefacts, paintings and manuscripts from lands as distant and culturally disparate as India, Japan and Thailand. The artistic production inspired by pilgrimage in the Buddhist traditions of Asia is particularly rich and unique because both physical and mental pilgrimage exists within Buddhist practice. Painted, sculpted and crafted representations of sacred sites are used as aids for visualization by those who are unable or unwilling for a variety of reasons to make a physical pilgrimage themselves.
As comprehensive catalogue is being published in association with Yale University Press.