I am an art historian at SOAS University of London, specialising in Buddhist art of the Indian subcontinent and the Himalayan region. The main purpose of this website is to provide documentation that complements this work, offering basic information on sites and their monuments, photograph galleries, details on research projects and selected publications, and introductions to those who contributed substantially to the documentation. The Changes page records major updates.
Website Reorganised
In May 2026 the website was substantially reorganised. Publication descriptions have been moved from the publications overview to the relevant research pages, where they can be read alongside related context. The publications overview now serves as a redirect index with links to those descriptions. Literature references within site and research pages have been consolidated into the sidebar, where they appear as reading lists alongside section links. Personal travel entries from the earlier years of this site have been moved to an archive page.
Photo Jaroslav Poncar 1982.
Alchi, Ladakh's Hidden Buddhist Sanctuary
This publication builds on and includes Roger Goepper's seminal book on the Sumtsek and covers all other early monuments of the Alchi Choskhor in Ladakh, India. As with the original publication, it relies on Jaroslav Poncar's documentation from the 1980s and early 1990s. The two-volume book is also available Open Access and can be downloaded from here:
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Alchi, Ladakh's Hidden Buddhist Sanctuary by Christian Luczanits, Jaroslav Poncar & Serindia Publications is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Tibetan Monastery Collections and Museums
The publication Tibetan Monastery Collections and Museums: Traditional Practices and Contemporary Issues edited by Louise Tythacott and me is now available as part of the Vajra Academic series. The publication brings together contributions on the curation of Tibetan art collections in monasteries in Ladakh and Mustang, as well as in the West.
The book results from an international workshop held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, from 8 to 10 November 2018. The workshop was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC; 2016–20) as part of the wider research project on Tibetan Buddhist Monastery Collections Today.
Tabo's Secret Main Mandala
The identification of the goddesses represented between the clay sculptures of the Vajradhātu mandala assembly in the Tabo Main Temple led to the identification of the Dharmadhātu mandala as the secret main topic of the Tabo Main Temple. Its full assembly is spread throughout the monument and explains much of its content, including the high number of pan-Indian deities in the Entry Hall and the two groups of sixteen Bodhisattvas of the Fortunate Aeon (bhadrakalpa) in the Ambulatory.
Two Illuminated Text Collections of Namgyal Monastery, Mustang
Among the various sacred objects of Namgyal Monastery, two collections of Buddhist canonical literature stand out for their age and complex illumination programmes. A new book publication by Markus Viehbeck and me presents the visual and textual contents of these two sets of Buddhist manuscripts and analyses them from the perspectives of manuscript studies, art history, and textual analysis. The book—including all preserved illuminations and the complete catalogue of texts contained—is the first volume of a new peer-reviewed publication series dedicated to the Himalayas called Vajra Academic and published with Vajra Books, Kathmandu, Nepal. For further information on this series see the Vajra Books website.
- An Open Access version of the book can be downloaded here.
Photo: Mandala of Padmanarteśvara on the third floor of the Jampa Lhakhang, Lo Manthang; Philip Lieberman 1994.
Ancient Temples in Lo Manthang
After many years and several attempts in the making, image galleries documenting the Jampa Lhakhang and Tupchen Lhakhang in Lo Manthang are now online. These images have been generously provided by Philip and Marcia Lieberman (1993, 1994), who also published a selection of their documentation online (Tibetan Buddhist Wall Paintings of Mustang, Nepal), and Jaroslav Poncar (1998). Today, this documentation is invaluable due to the recent restorations of these temples, which are also partially documented through comparisons I took in 2013. I have already expressed my opinion about these restorations in two articles; now everyone can see what has been lost through them.
- Gallery of the ◊ temples of Lo Manthang (the banner above is from a photograph by Philip Lieberman)
The Interior Decoration of Wanla
In 2015 Holger Neuwirth & Carmen Auer published a book on The Three Storied Temple of Wanla with their University (Technische Universität Graz). By that time I had worked for years on a full description of the temple's iconography, but could not get it finished in time for the publication. In the meantime, I shared this draft with a number of people, but I think even in its draft state the rich material assembled in the 180-page document may be of broader interest. I have thus made it available through this website.
Mustang Monastery Collections
Since 2012 I have been documenting monastery collections in Mustang. The collection of sculptures and books at Namgyal monastery turned out to be extremely exciting, each visit resulting in new discoveries. A first glimpse of this collection is offered in a two part contribution to Orientations (March and June 2016). The 14th century Prajñāpāramitā and Sūtra sections of the Kanjur are now fully documented and their catalogue and a study of its illuminations are in process. The Lamdré sculpture sets are being studied in detail as well.
- Here is a summary of the work in Mustang presented in February 2020 at the British Library.
Cave of Great Adepts
In 2007 the rediscovery of a painted cave hidden in the barren mountain landscape of Upper Mustang, Nepal, hit the international headlines. Years passed without further information on the cave, the published mural and its context, save for an article providing only an initial assessment published in 2010. This website contains the full documentation of the cave's murals, accompanying an article written for the June 2014 issue of Orientations which offers a more precise reading and context for the cave.
Kanaganahalli
Now that the excavation report of this fascinating early Buddhist site has been published, I decided to make my documentation from the early years of the new millennium publicly available. The more than 400 pictures have been taken in the course of a two-day visit and are roughly arranged clockwise around the monument beginning on the east side. For more information on this documentation see the site page on Kanaganahalli.
Flip Side
Since March 2013 Flip Side, The Unseen in Tibetan Art is on view at the Rubin Museum of Art. The exhibition reveals and explains the backs of selected Tibetan artworks for the first time. Be ready for surprises. A brochure planned to accompany the exhibit had to be abandoned, and what is being presented in the exhibit is so far unpublished.
Banners
Of the image banners those on the top are all mine and selected randomly. The banners marking sections relate to the page content. If the photograph from which they are extracted has been taken by someone else a caption provides the photographer.
Image Galleries
All image galleries are provided through Piwigo, including the banners. On the gallery pages, you can also search for keywords, particularly the names of deities (without diacritics). Links preceded by a lozenge sign (◊) lead directly to the image gallery.
ITBA
In its first iteration, my website was called Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Art (ITBA). That site has been discontinued and its content has been integrated here.