Opening October 8 at the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum, Taiwan (npm_south), “Crossing the Himalayas: An Artistic Odyssey” explores the Himalayas as a cultural crossroads. The Rubin is the exhibition’s largest lender, with 42 artworks from the Museum’s collection on view. One of the exhibition highlights is Four Mandalas of the Vajravali Cycle, an exquisite 15th-century thangka (scroll painting). A Tibetan inscription written in gold identifies it as the 13th painting in a 14-painting set illustrating the Vajravali cycle, a compendium of esoteric teachings compiled in 11th-century India and widely transmitted in Tibet. Only six paintings from the set are known to survive today. Ngor monastic histories record that six itinerant Newar artists from the Kathmandu Valley, including the famous artist Wangguli, created the paintings at Ngor Monastery. This thangka represents the culmination of Newar artisanship in southern-central Tibet. See this exceptionally well-preser...