A collection showcasing domestic objects from Mongolia,
such as whips, textiles and chess sets, and another displaying Tibetan items,
primarily Buddhist masks, books and silk paintings called Thankgas, are the
current attractions at the Indiana University Art Museum’s Special Exhibitions
Gallery. “From the Steppes and the Monasteries: Arts of Mongolia and Tibet” is
divided into two sections, curator Judy Stubbs said.

The large, lustrous Thankgas hang on a wall and depict
several Buddhist deities. The paintings’ upper halves are dark, stained by the
smoke used to make them, which Stubbs said are signs of their authenticity.

“All of these items were actually in use at some time,”
she said. “When we unwrapped the Thankgas they smelled distinctly of smoke, and
some of them were even slightly greasy from the butter lamps.” In the center of
the gallery are six giant masks once used during Tsam, a traditional dance for
Mongolian Buddhists.

One mask depicts the elephant head of the Hindu/Buddhist
deity Ganesha, his trunk cracked. Another depicts the snarling face of a tiger,
a symbol of the autumnal equinox.