FERENC HOPP MUSEUM OF EASTERN ASIATIC ARTS


	Vajradhara Primordial Buddha with his female energy Gilt bronze, School of Zanabazar 17^th–18^th centuries

The evolution of the Mongolian Collection rested on the cooperation of two experts: on the repeated donations of Lajos Ligeti, Orientalist (Mongolist in the first place) and member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on the one hand and the interest in European and Asian Huns of Zoltán Felvinczi Takács, first director of the Museum. In the decades after the 1950s, there were favourable opportunities to enrich the Collection, which currently consists of over 800 items.

The backbone of the Collection is the group of Buddhist objects, mainly paintings (thangkas, tsaklis) and small sculptures. The majority of items date from the 19^th century, but there are several earlier items. The pieces that can be attributed to the Dzanabadzar School form an outstanding group of our bronzes. A small but exceedingly rare statue depicts the dakini Vyaghrimukha, a goddess of intermediate existence. As regards paintings, worthy of mention are the donations by Lajos Ligeti, the thangkas from Inner Mongolia, a thangka of the Urgai School, a painting showing Amitabha's heaven, a painting representing the assembly tree of an unknown Gelugpa monk, the so-called jataka-thangka (that is, scenes from Shakyamuni's life) and the thangka representing the Guhyasamaja. In addition to these important pieces, ceremonial items form a varied and significant group of objects. The Buddhist Collection also preserves several manuscripts, books printed with wood-blocks, figural wood-blocks and wood-blocks with texts.

As regards ethnographic items, costumes and accessories predominate; however, we also have a violin decorated with a horse-head, a bow and arrows, and a number of silver cups. A so-called Mongolian cross, several archaeological findings, a seal from the 19^th century and a Tibetan-Mongolian bilingual document are interesting pieces of historical interest.

Dr. Judit Vinkovics


Guhyasamaja yidam with his female energy Thangka, 19^th century		Tsongkhapa Gilt bronze, 19^th century		Amitabha's Paradise Thangka, 19^th century