First times are always special. But a first-ever of something is especially special. Such is the case with the University of Michigan Museum of Art’s exhibit Protecting Wisdom: Tibetan Book Covers From the Maclean Collection.

Mounted in the UMMA’s Irving Stenn Jr. Family Gallery, this display not only presents us with an incomparable iconographic delight, it’s also the first time this art form's been exhibited in the United States -- and one of the first times these artworks have been seen by the public. So, yes, Protecting Wisdom really is special.

As the guest curator, Dr. Kathryn Selig Brown (U-M Ph.D. in Tibetan History of Art), tells us in her introduction:

Tibetan book covers are arguably the most ornate in Asia. For Tibetan Buddhists, books are a divine presence in which the Buddha lives and reveals himself, as well as accrue good merit towards a future rebirth. Elaborate book covers were frequently commissioned, most commonly carved, painted, and often gilded wood; they were decorated inside and out on both ends.

Therefore, these works were meant to be seen only by Tibetan monks, who used them to protect their sacred texts. But art historians have been deciphering the covers since the late 20th century, and given that some of these works were executed in the 11th century, the journey from holy relics to objects of esteem to art museum showpieces has been a long one, indeed.

Collected by the Chicago’s Maclean Collection -- founded by connoisseurs Barry and Mary Ann Maclean, who began collecting the book covers in the late 1990s (as well as specializing in such antiquities as early sculpture, ceramics, and maps) -- this UMMA exhibit will be the only public venue to host these holy relics, with a subsequent exhibit in Dallas’ privately held Crow Collection of Asian Art. This makes Protecting Wisdom a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the majority of us.

The exhibition features 33 book covers that represent the iconographic gamut typical of these sacred items. The majority of book covers in the exhibit are Tibetan Buddhist. But the display also includes a Bon-religion cover and two covers from Mongolia as well as a pair of mid-15th-century book covers produced for the Chinese Ming emperor Zhu Di (emperor “Yongle”).

These expressive covers illustrate the skills of the finest artisans of their eras and regions. It was not uncommon for hundreds of artists to contribute to the decorative techniques used on the covers -- including carving, incising, painting, gilding, and inlay -- as well as intricate combinations of these techniques with sculpting, ranging from light incisions to high relief.

Yet as objects of religion, the aesthetic embellishments found on the covers were meant to face inside the manuscripts, with their thick-edged plates serving as an outer protection -- being only visible momentarily when the books (typically housed on monastery library shelves) were read by Buddhists monks. That means these intricately executed artworks were a distant second in importance to those who read the books; Buddhist scripture was the reason to open these tomes.

While many of these covers look vaguely similar, a closer examination of the interiors opens a wealth of religious symbolism that’s as variegated as the panoply of Buddhist deities. The images always refer to specific gods and symbols in Buddhist traditions -- and the placement of the imagery itself relays a specific religious context.

For example, as guest curator Brown says in the gallery tag of “‘The Four Gods of Kadam’ in Celestial Palaces,” a 12th-century book cover crafted in the vicinity of one of Tibet’s holiest sites, the Lhalung (Golden Temple) Monastery:

Five fantastic structures, the celestial palaces of deities, adorn this lower book cover. These structures bear a remarkable similarity to the three-dimensional stucco decoration found with the Lhalung Sarkhang (in the western Himalayan region of present-day northern India).

Represented are a group of deities known as "The Four Gods of the Kadam." Kadam refers to the school of Tibetan Buddhism founded by the disciples of the Indian scholar Atisha, who was teaching from 1042 to 1045 in the area where this cover originated. On the far right a representation of Vajrapani, a Buddhist protective deity, has been added.

Marvelously intricate, the relief figures in “The Four Gods of Kadam” reside in shadow and light with each figure depicted in a temple as the central figure steps out of its frame. This unusual crafting, unlike virtually anything else in the exhibit, is a clear imploration for active devotion rather than merely relying upon gesture.

On the other hand, the 15th century “Dramze Demchog Nyingpo,” with its paint and gilding on wood, seems positively demure in contrast to the energetic “Four Gods of Kadam.” That is until Brown’s didactic explains its iconography:

With his pinky finger delicately extended, a finely drawn image of Dramze (“the Brahmin”) Demchog Nyingpo holds a trumpet made from a human thigh bone up to his lips.

His gaunt body, minimal clothing, animal skin seat and human bone accoutrements indicate his status as a yogin, or practitioner of Buddhist Tantra. Surrounding him are 84 crowned and jeweled images of the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, Amitayus, who holds a vase containing the elixir of immortality in his lap.

Once again, what seems on the first impression as a highly stylized rendering of umpteen repetitions becomes a portal to cosmic revelation. Given that “Four Gods of Kadam” has an inset relief that activates its panels, “Dramze Demchog Nyingpo” seems static initially. But the yogin’s casual depiction of life’s vicissitudes coupled with the multitudes of Amitayus illustrates the profound recurrence of devotion that is to be shown by Buddhist initiates.

As the “Dramze Demchog Nyingpo” book cover implies: Human life is short, but life itself is forever. Like the unyielding commitment of the many unknown Tibetan artisans who spent their careers in anonymous yet fervent reverence, this art was meant to last forever.

John Carlos Cantú has written on our community's visual arts in a number of different periodicals.

University of Michigan Museum of Art: “Protecting Wisdom: Tibetan Book Covers from the Maclean Collection” runs through April 2, 2017. UMMA, 525 S. State Street, is open Tuesday-Saturday 11 am–5 pm and Sunday 12–5 pm. For information, call 734-764-0395 or visit umma.umich.edu.