Date: 12/01 Saturday 1pm-4pm Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Date: Mustang, called Lo in Tibetan, is a discrete geographical region to the north of central Nepal mostly inhabited by people who are culturally Tibetan. The Mustang valley is defined by the Kali Gandaki River, which flows straight from north to south. Tracks paralleling the river once served as a major trade route between Tibet and India and provided the surplus that enabled the building of monasteries of substantial size and the creation of stunning artworks, in particular from the late 14th to the 17th centuries. This seminar will present major monuments and art objects from the region, and also will introduce Mustang's colorful history and landscape.Christian Luczanits, Curator of Tibetan Art at The Rubin Museum in New York, received a PhD from the Institute of Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna. His research focuses on the Buddhist art of India and Tibet, and he is the author of Buddhist Sculpture in Clay: Early Western Himalayan Art, Late 10th to Early 13th Centuries. In connection with his recent research on Buddhist art immediately before and during Kushana rule, he co-curated the exhibition Gandhara--The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan, Legends, Monasteries and Paradise at the Kunst und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in Bonn. Luczanits was a Numata Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley, Frei Universität in Berlin, and at Stanford in 2010. Free