Indo-Tibetan bronzes

Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, 1981. 1st Edition . Leatherette. Fine/No Jacket. Folio - over 12 - 15" tall. In English. First printing of the first edition. This is copy no. 102 of 500 copies of the first edition. Printed in Hong Kong by South China Printing Co. 13.75 x 9.5 inches. Bound in deep red leatherette, with crisp gilt-stamped lettering and images to the front board and the spine. Unbumped spine head and tail, and with sharp corners. Exceptionally clean binding. Text block firmly bound in. Handsome map pastedowns/FEPs. With 576 numbered pages. Text includes glossary, bibliography and index as well as a list of present locations of the illustrated bronzes. With XVIII full-page, full-color, tipped-in plates. Plates V & XVI were originally printed in negative reverse, a printer's error. This error was corrected by enclosing with each copy so affected the properly printed color plates. In fact this copy of the book has two of each of the corrected prints, slipped in and in fine condition. The book is also illustrated with hundreds of B&W photographs and drawings plus 5 maps. An immensely clean interior. Almost certainly unread. With the heavy-duty publisher's slipcase, semi-glossy blue paper over cardboard. Repairs to the slipcase at top and bottom strips where the blue paper had pulled away. A 4" hairline crack along a bottom edge, holding but uncertain. A Fine copy in a Good slipcase. 9 lb. 12 oz. From the introduction: "This book, the result of a sixteen year study of Buddhist art, is the first full-length publication concerning the stylistic evolution of the image casting traditions of northern India, the Himalayas and Tibet, as well as those of China during the Ming and Qing Dynasties." This pristine copy was originally sent to the Switzerland-based distributor, Nanda Distribution, as agent for the publisher. The book was subsequently acquired by James and Marilyn Alsdorf, among the most prominent Chicago-based collectors in the second half of the 20th century of significant Asian art, and is from their personal library. Studying and collecting art was their all-consuming passion, and it took them all over the world. As well as being great collectors, the Alsdorfs were loyal supporters of museums and cultural institutions across Chicago and the wider United States, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Leigh Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University and the Art Institute of Chicago.