Selected Bibliography of Works on Tibetan and Himalayan Architecture

Draft prepared by Frances Garrett on June 25, 2003

___. (2001). The Lhasa Atlas: Traditional Tibetan Architecture and Townscape, Shambhala Publications.

Chayet, A. (1994). Art et archéologie du Tibet, Picard.

Clark, L., J. Grupper, et al. (2003). Lost treasures of Tibet, WGBH Video.
Join the race against time as art and restoration experts mix history, science and politics in a complicated and daunting mission to preserve Mustang's religious works of art.

Denwood, Philip (1990). 'Uses of Indian technical literature in Tibetan architecture’, South Asian Studies 6, pp.95-104.

Govinda, A. B. (1976). Psycho-cosmic symbolism of the Buddhist stupa, Dharma Pub.

Gutschow, N., A. Michaels, et al., Eds. (2003). Sacred Landscape of the Himalaya. Proceedings of an International Conference at Heidelberg 22-27 May, 1998. Wien, VÖAW.
Review by Ernst Steinkellner, published on H-NET Buddhist Scholars Information Network email list: "Where the mountains are gods it seems obvious to talk about the sacredness of landscape: The proceedings of an international seminar at Heidelberg in May 1998 present nine case studies covering the entire range of the Himalaya, from Ladakh and Garhwal in India, to Humla and Mustand in Nepal as well as Bhutan. The focus is on space-related architecture and/or anthropological analysis of the built environment and its location in landscape -- a term that denotes the singularity of a certain place.
"The presented cases document how on various scales territories are identified with protective deities, a quality that needs ritual renewal through processions and physical acts like colouring. Actions and perceptions allow the reader to understand landscape as a process rather than an essence of space. The volume is based on original fieldwork of architects (Dujardin, Gansach, Niels Gutschow, Harrison, Herdick, Vanquaille, Vets), anthropologists (Kim Gutschow, Ramble, Sax), one Indologist (Michaels) and one Tibetologist (Ehrhard) carried out during the decade preceding the conference.
"Different disciplines meet to unveil the pattern of sacredness that is attached to villages, valleys, rocks, mountains, forests, springs and rivers. Space is virtually inhabited by beings and can thus be auspicious or dangerous. Sacred places, "Hidden Lands" and "Power Places" are localized, mapped and analyzed. Pilgrimage routes are explored, the mythic appropriations of landscape to archetypes worked out. Patterns of sacralisation through annual circumambulations are visually outlined. The book for the first time presents Himalayan settlements with detailed maps of villages and architectural drawings of houses. Extensive visual presentation allows the reader to enter into a complex world that constructs its mountains as the realm of gods."

Harrer, H., H. Nieter, et al. (1998). Seven years in Tibet, Kino on Video.
A reconstructed account of an Austrian mountain climber's escape from a British internment camp in India during World War II and his twenty-one-month journey through the Himalayas to safety in the forbidden city of Lhasa, where he befriended the young Dalai Lama and was allowed to photograph the breathtaking architecture, pageantry and populace of this remote paradise. Smuggled out of Tibet, Harrer's 16mm color footage is featured in this account and records the Dalai Lama's escape to India with the red Chinese army in hot pursuit.

Honour, H. and J. Fleming (2000). The visual arts : a history, Prentice Hall.

Leidy, D. P., R. A. F. Thurman, et al. (1997). Mandala : the architecture of enlightenment, Asia Society Galleries : Tibet House ; Shambhala.

Thub bstan legs b*sad rgya, m. and D. P. Jackson (1979). Gateway to the temple : manual of Tibetan monastic customs, art, building, and celebrations : originally entitled A requisite manual for faith and adherence to the Buddhist teaching, including the way of entering the door of religion, the root of the teaching, the method for erecting temples, the resting place of the teaching, and cycle of religious duties, the performance of the teaching, Ratna Pustak Bhandar.

Toffin, G. (1991). Man and his house in the Himalayas : ecology of Nepal, Sterling Publishers.