From manuscript to block printing: In the search of stylistic models for the identification of Tibetan Xylographs

To these days we do not have an accurate picture of the printing projects undertaken in the various areas of Tibet since the introduction of the xylographic technique in the country. Tibetan people started to use it widely only after the 14th Century. Important printing projects were undertaken in Tibet starting from the 15th Century, which was a flourishing period for arts and culture. One way to study the history of xylographs in Tibet is by identifying the different schools on the basis of stylistic criteria of the extant printings. The schools may also be recognized with the aid of religious figures, spiritual communities to which the artists belonged, or else sponsors. This article describes how to study the history of Tibetan printing through the analysis of stylistic typologies and editions of the original xylographs kept in the Tucci Tibetan Collection of the IsIAO Library in Rome. The aim is an attempt to provide some stylistic models to identify the xylographs of the different printeries.