Ladakh has been called the “crossroads of high Asia“(J. Rizvi, 1983). The area centred on the Upper Indus Valley has served as a thoroughfare for goods, armies and cultural influences since pre-historic times, forming a crucial bridge between the Subcontinent, Xinjiang and the Tibetan Plateau. In a remarkable paradox, Ladakh combines extreme remoteness and inaccessibility with openness and connectivity. More recently, India's stand-off with China in the Himalayas and the disputed border with Pakistan have put an end to Ladakh's traditional rôle as a crossroads of cultures but new infrastructure, in the form of air travel and the Leh-Manali-Highway has kept the area open to the outside world. In 1974, Ladakh was re-opened to foreign visitors, and studies in all aspects of local culture have since resumed while still standing on the shoulders of the pioneers of the colonial age, from W. Moorcroft (1767–1825), to the scholars of the Moravian Mission in Leh (A. H. Francke, 1870–1930) and the European researchers of the inter-War period, in particular G. Tucci (1894–1984).
Modern research into Ladakhi culture is characterised by two notions that are abundantly in evidence in this book, i.e. an inter-disciplinary approach and attention to questions of heritage preservation. These points are particularly emphasised by J. Bray in his introduction, as the author calls for serious linguistic studies to accompany art-historical and archaeological work and draws the reader's attention to the manifold threats faced by the built environment in Ladakh in our time. The seventeen contributions in this volume, drawn from the biennial IALS symposia between 2007 and 2011, are listed in chronological order, which establishes a type of narrative despite the wide range of subjects. The individual articles fall into three categories: little-known subjects, often in remote areas, ‘classics’ of Ladakhi (art-) history that have been re-visited and subjects with a direct relevance to the present.
The study of Ladakhi rock art may still be in its infancy, yet T. L. Thsangspa's article on ancient petroglyphs reveals a range of styles and regional and inter-regional connections which point to Kashmir, Northern Pakistan, Central Asia and Central Tibet. While a full art-historical narrative is still contingent on further field work and a more reliable chronological framework, the artistic sophistication of the depiction of animals in motion at Domkhar (Lower Ladakh) and Tangtse (Northeastern Ladakh), with their links with Scythian and early Chinese art powerfully demonstrates the relevance of this subject. Rock art also forms the most significant body of evidence for early Buddhist penetration into Ladakh. Phuntsog Dorjay's piece on early Buddhist rock art, based on extensive field work (2001–2008), goes beyond the documentation of well-known major works, like the Maitreya image at Mulbek or the bodhisattva figures at Dras. The artistic sources of these rock-carved sculptures are found in Kashmir rather than in Tibet, with Kashmir also providing the only, relatively, reliable reference to the dating of the sculptures between the ninth and eleventh centuries.
N. and K. Howard put the monuments and history of the Gya Valley in Eastern Ladakh on the map - impressive remnants of fortified structures and vast stūpa fields - and make a point for classing them as second in the region only to those between Shey and Ranbirpur for the period following the Second Diffusion of Buddhism in the eleventh century. The complex was established by an important line of local rulers of royal descent who became extinct only at the end of the nineteenth century. The castle and mosque at Chigtan in the Purig region of Western Ladakh is another example of an abandoned architectural complex that has been studied little so far. Khan, Bray, Devers and Vernier identify five stages of construction in the castle and its associated forts, with a striking mixture of influences that point towards Baltistan as well as Central Ladakh during various eras particularly the seventeenth century. The adjacent mosque with its extant woodcarvings is an important survival of the Tibeto-Himalayan type in view of the rapid disappearance of these buildings in our time.
The systematic study of chörtens (mchod-rten) in Ladakh, has had a long tradition that goes back to Tucci (1932) and continues with Kozics's stūpa project (2005). The article by Devers, Bruneau and Vernier uses the typological approach developed by K. Howard in 1995 to analyse ten painted chörtens of unknown date: the most instructive type is the ‘kakani’ or entrance chörten through which the visitor may pass and obtain a view of the interior of the stūpa, the latter often decorated with murals. The examples at Nyoma and Shera stand out with depictions of the Life of the Buddha and a ‘drinking scene’. Kozics's study of a single, multi-storeyed chörten at Nyarma, thus far ignored by modern scholars, expands on the stūpa theme and demonstrates the existence of an alternative architectural type, probably in the late eleventh or early twelfth centuries, that used stone corbel vaults rather than the timber lantern ceilings known from Alchi. It is shown that this type of roofing necessitated a different configuration of the iconography of the paintings on the interior walls.
The second diffusion of Buddhism which was dominated by the activities of the great translator, Rinchen Zangpo (ce 958–1055), produced the artistic and architectural monuments of the Alchi enclosure (chos-‘khor), the high point of Ladakhi art-history. Denwood re-visits the question of the dating of the Sumtsek Temple which has received a great deal of attention since the days of Snellgrove and Skorupski (1977). The author aims to refute Goeppner & Goncar's late dating of the temple by showing that the late twelfth and early thirteenth-century Drigungpa personages, depicted on the second floor of the temple, go back to later changes to the murals, for the purpose of claiming Alchi for the Drigung Order. Given the central position that the Alchi Sumtsek holds in the context of Ladakhi art-history, this discussion can be seen as crucial to the evaluation of most Ladakhi art of the Second Diffusion and beyond.
One of the most renowned scenes among the artistic treasures of Alchi, the ‘Drinking Scene’ at Dukhang, stands as a perfect symbol of the theme of this book. Alafouzo shows the myriad influences at work, in terms of the typology of the scene (connected with pre-Islamic nomad traditions), the costumes and the physiognomies of the figures: a meeting of Tibetan (female figures) and Central Asian (male figures) types and styles which display influences from areas as diverse as Mongolia, Sassanian Persia and Pāla Bengal.
Poell challenges the primacy of Kashmiri influences on the art of the Second Diffusion by pointing out the impact of post-Gupta sculpture on the woodcarvings of Lachuse Temple, a little-known site in Western Ladakh: the carvings include remnants of a tripartite façade and verandah in addition to carved interior features. The presence of artistic sources other than Kashmiri is notably different from the group around the Alchi Sumtsek, Sumda and Mangyu temples and may necessitate a re-evaluation of the orientation of some of the art of the Second Diffusion.
The change in cultural and artistic outlook in Ladakh that came with the arrival of the Gelug Order in the fifteenth century is studied by Bellini with regard to the iconography of the re-painting of the Gönkhang of Spituk Monastery. The paintings whose style shows influences of Tibetan Gelugpa centres are dated by the author to the time of Tsong-kha-pa's (1357–1419) visit to Ladakh. However, the vast majority of murals which adorn Ladakh's active monasteries today date from the period following the Dogra conquest (1834–42). One such example is the Avalokiteśvara (Chenrezig) Temple at Lamayuru which was built and decorated in the middle of the nineteenth century. Blancke's article on the Lamayuru murals (by an unknown master) concentrates on the remarkable attempt to illustrate the intermediate states between reincarnations (as described in the Tibetan “Book of the Dead”) in pictorial form to make this content accessible to the common people. In a similar way, Lunardo's article on the murals in the New Dukhang of Spituk Monastery, painted by the renowned artist Tshe-ring-dbang-‘dus in the 1970s, focuses on the iconographic peculiarities of the composition. The depiction of the visualised ‘field of merit’ (tshogs-zhing) shows several deviations from the traditional types that cannot be explained with reference to literature. In any case, both cases of modern wall-paintings show a readiness to engage with iconographic models in a creative and imaginative way and demonstrate the presence of a living Buddhist tradition in Ladakh.
It is easy to see the changes that have swept over Ladakh since its opening to foreign tourism as constituting primarily a threat to the region's art and architecture (e.g. the cause célèbre of the new Khalatse bridge). On the other hand, positive examples of the involvement of outside organisations are equally abundant, none more so than the case of Old Leh, a fortuitous and rare survival of a Tibeto-Himalayan city which has undergone successively abandonment and partial regeneration, as the contribution by Alexander and Catanese describes. Apart from high-profile projects like the restoration of the Sangkar House, Sharif Masjid or the wall-paintings of the Red Maitreya Temple, the efforts of grassroots initiatives to retain Old Leh as a living urban space are of enormous importance. In his overview of current conservation projects, Harrison points out the danger of the old town turning into a “museum quarter and tourist honeypot” and cites, at the other end of the spectrum, the shocking example of Hemis Monastery's ruthless treatment of its historic fabric. The almost complete destruction of an entrance chörten at Zangla in Lower Zanskar in a misguided ‘restoration’ campaign by the Italian Stūpa Project, which is highlighted by Devers, Bruneau and Vernier, shows the danger that Ladakhi monuments face from perhaps unexpected quarters.
The need for systematic study and scientific analysis to underpin restoration and conservation work is stressed in Feiglstorfer's article on techniques in earthen architecture. Based on the chemical analysis of soil samples, the author explores local variations in the use of earth compounds in construction. In spite of its often extremely simple appearance, Ladakhi vernacular architecture proves to be ingenuous in adapting its methods to local conditions.
No example of Ladakhi material culture that is covered in this book, demonstrates the fragility of the region's heritage better than the Kesar paintings of Bray's contribution. If it had not been for the curiosity and intervention of foreigners in Leh c.1900 who studied and recorded the murals of the Kesar saga in the house of the Kalon, the existence of secular mural paintings and their connection with an Eastern Tibetan version of the saga would never have been known.
Outside intervention has always been a hallmark of Ladakhi history and culture. While the many foreign NGOs are in danger of stepping on each other's toes (Harrision), some old trade patterns have survived and adapted to the modern age. Ahmed describes the trade in silk brocade: from the seventeenth century silk weavers from Benares started to compete with the Chinese, chiefly on price. Instead of ruining their business, the political upheavals of the twentieth century strengthened the position of the Indian weavers whose products are still to be found in the Leh bazaar and in many monasteries. The phenomenon of Indian weavers copying Chinese silk brocade for Ladakhi monasteries can be seen as a powerful symbol of the cross-cultural transmissions to which this volume is dedicated.
