The Justyna und Michael Buddeberg Collection
Munich, December 2016. "From the Land of the Snow Lion – Tibetan Treasures from the 15th to 20th Century" is the title of a special exhibition starting on December 9 at the Museum Fünf Kontinente.
During their first visit to Lhasa in 1994 Justyna und Michael Buddeberg acquired a small seat cover. This was the beginning of their enthusiasm for Tibet and its culture – and the foundation for a large collection was laid. Tibetan carpets and textiles which the couple gathered over the course of altogether 16 trips to the Central Asian plateau are the focus of this collection which is being shown for the first time. The collection has been added to with selected purchases in Europe, Asia and the USA.
Carpets for sitting and sleeping or as equipment for riding horses played a key role in the traditional culture of Tibet. They display a fascinating variety of shapes and motifs created with almost technical precision. Particularly striking are the takyab knotted carpets which decorated horses’ foreheads. Not without reason, these treasures of knotting technique are sometimes referred to as "horse jewels".
In addition, the Buddeberg collection contains Tibetan jewellery, amulet holders and painted furniture from monasteries and royal households.
Largely ignored in research to date are the splendidly decorated end caps of thangka rods. They served as handles to roll the familiar thangkas up or down and are masterpieces of Tibetan metalworking art over five hundred centuries. The presentation is supplemented by selected carpets from the collection of Karl Steiner, the travelling companion and fellow collector of Justyna and Michael Buddeberg.
A large, opulently illustrated catalogue will appear in connection with the exhibition. With contributions from well-known experts, it provides an in-depth overview of the art of carpet and textile weaving, jewellery and metalworking as well as the production and use of furniture in Tibet.