Asian

This is the Asia that the courtly categories leave out: the Himalayan and Southeast Asian traditions, where the object is religious first and decorative second. Thangkas are painted to be used in practice, bronzes are cast to hold a consecration, and prayer wheels are handled until the metal wears through.

The materials follow the ritual. Pigment is ground mineral and applied to prepared cloth; bronze is gilt and then worn at the points a hand touches; wood is carved and painted rather than polished. The aesthetic is dense and symmetrical, built to be read as an icon rather than admired as a composition.

What survives in quantity is often what was made for export or for a tourist market that began early. The distinction between a consecrated object and a commercial one is usually visible in the finishing, and it is the first thing to establish.