Pair of Book Covers for a Buddhist Text

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

These unique, large-scale book covers illustrate the complex interrelationship between the Buddhist world of eastern India and that of Tibet during the "second diffusion," when Buddhism in Tibet was purified by renewed contact with Indian Buddhism. They are also fascinating as prototypical objects that help to explain the format and decoration of many Tibetan painted book covers. Nothing like them has survived in India, and they present a new facet of eastern Indian art of the Pala period.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art