Description
The art of Nepal, which has expanded over two thousand years, is mostly concentrated in the Valley of Kathmandu.
The Kingdom of Nepal was isolated from the rest of the world for many centuries: firstly, due to geographical isolation; and secondly, no outsider was allowed to visit the country. Therefore, the art objects of Nepal, whether stone scultpures, bronzes, or wooden works or paintings, were all safe and intact in the country. Those foreigners who were allowed to visit the Valley of Kathmandu with special permission were spellbound to see the art and architecture of the Valley. They wrote on and praised lavishly what they saw. Among them were Percival Landon, Daniel Wright, Oldfield, Sylvan Levi, Kirkpatrick and Percy Brown.
In the early fifties, Nepal was opened to the world and for the first time foreigners could see the ancient city of Kathmandu. They found the Valley of Kathmandu like an enormous open museum where thousands of icons of gods and goddesses in stone, metal, wood or terra-cotta could be seen scattered around. Such art objects were found literally almost everywhere — in temples, shrines, monasteries, Buddhist chaityas, stupas, old palaces, private courtyards, streets, narrow lanes, bylanes, water spouts, open fields, neglected places, etc. Until then the art of Nepal was virtually unknown to the world. In 1964, Dr.Stella Kramrisch organized an exhibition of Nepalese art in Asia House, New York and published a magnificent catalogue. Actually, she was the first scholar to introduce the art of Nepal to the western world. In 1966, the Department of Archaeology of His Majesty’s Government of Nepal arranged an exhibition of Nepalese art in western Europe which further generated interest in the art of Nepal among the western public. Then, a number of articles and books on various aspects of Nepalese art began to appear. Perhaps it would not be out of place to mention here a few noted publications which further helped to introduce the art of Nepal to the world.
