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CRCAO member - TBACT Team

Nils Martin

Independent

Presentation

My research so far has been especially focused on the Buddhist art history and epigraphy of Ladakh, from the Tibetan imperial period up to the Namgyal dynasty. My PhD thesis, which won the Khyentse Foundation award for best dissertation, discusses the painted monuments of the Wanla Group (Ladakh, 14th century), and I am currently preparing a study on some of the earliest Buddhist rock-carvings and Tibetan inscriptions in the region (c. 8th-11th centuries). In the context of the Van Manen Project, I now also conduct research on the material culture collected by the pioneer of Tibetan studies Johan Van Manen, housed at the Worldmuseum Leiden.

Research thematics

  • Political and religious history of the Ladakh region and its links to Tibet during the Later diffusion of Buddhism (phyi dar)
  • Sculptures and murals of the 13th-15th century Buddhist monuments of Ladakh
  • Buddhist rock-art sites in Western Tibet and beyond from the Imperial period to the Later diffusion (8th-13th centuries)
  • Modes and techniques of mural painting, connoisseurship applied to Tibetan art history
  • Archeometric analyses and chronological modelling of murals
  • Tibetan epigraphy and the relationship between inscriptions and artworks

CRCAO research programmes

Publications (HAL Archive Ouverte)

  • Nils Martin. The murals of the Lotsawa Lhakhang in Henasku and of a few related monuments. A glimpse into the politico-religious situation of Ladakh in the 14th and 15th centuries. Études mongoles et sibériennes, centrasiatiques et tibétaines, 2020, 51, ⟨10.4000/emscat.4361⟩. ⟨hal-03160582⟩

  • Quentin Devers, Nils Martin, Tashi Ldawa, Kacho Mumtaz Ali Khan. Appendix: The Stepped Shrines of Kharul. Zentralasiatische Studien, 2018, 46 [2017], pp.233-276. ⟨hal-01997945⟩

  • Nils Martin. A Solemn Praise to an 11th century West-Tibetan Councillor at Kharul, Purik. Zentralasiatische Studien, 2018, 46 [2017], pp.189-232. ⟨hal-01985396v2⟩

  • Quentin Devers, Nils Martin, Kacho Mumtaz Ali Khan, Tashi Ldawa. The Petroglyphs of Kharool: The New Alchi of Ladakh. Flight of the Khyung, 2016. ⟨hal-01646691⟩

  • Nils Martin. Review of David Jackson's Painting Traditions of the Drigung Kagyu School (2015). Arts Asiatiques, 2016, 71, pp.186-189. ⟨hal-01985405⟩

  • Nils Martin. The Wanla group of monuments in the making: A network of patrons and painters in 14th-century Ladakh. 16th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Jul 2022, Prague, Czech Republic. ⟨hal-03893833⟩

  • Nils Martin. Below the peak of a khyung and outside the den of a tiger: The inscription of Balukhar reconsidered. 15th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Jul 2019, Paris, France. ⟨hal-03893830⟩

  • Nils Martin. 'Neither drink water beneath a man, nor eat grass beneath a horse’: Models of governance at Mangyu. 18th conference of the International Association of Ladakh Studies, May 2017, Poznan, Poland. ⟨hal-03893828⟩

  • Nils Martin. The lDe, the 'Bro, and the sMer: Inscriptional evidence from the temple of Avalokiteshvara at Mangyu. 14th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Jun 2016, Bergen, Norway. ⟨hal-03893825⟩

  • Nils Martin. An overview of the wall-paintings and inscriptions in the old temple of Mulbek. 17th conference of the International Association of Ladakh Studies, Jul 2015, Kargil, India. ⟨hal-03893771⟩

  • Nils Martin, Emmanuelle Delque-Količ. Vers une chronologie des peintures murales des XIVème – XVème siècles au Ladakh, II. Colloque du GMPCA - Archéométrie, May 2015, Besançon, France. ⟨hal-03893840⟩

  • Nils Martin. The Kankani Chorten at Nyoma: An outstanding funerary monument for Lord Bhag Darskyab?. Francke’s legacy: Archaeological research in Ladakh, one hundred years after, Aug 2014, Leh, India. ⟨hal-03893769⟩

  • Nils Martin, Emmanuelle Delque-Količ. Vers une chronologie des peintures murales des XIVème – XVème siècles au Ladakh, I. 1ère journée du réseau 14C francophone, Nov 2013, Orsay, France. ⟨hal-03893837⟩

  • Nils Martin. Which sources for the Life of the Buddha in the lHa tho lha khang of Alchi?. 16th Conference of the International Association for Ladakh Studies, Apr 2013, Heidelberg, Germany. ⟨hal-03893763⟩

  • Nils Martin. How to refine the inner chronology of 14th to 15th centuries Ladakhi wall paintings? The example of the Guru lha khang of Phiyang and the Cave n°1 of Saspol. 13th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Jul 2013, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. ⟨hal-03893759⟩

  • Nils Martin, Quentin Devers. The Khyung’s Peak and the Tiger’s Den: a re-exploration of the fort of Balukhar in Ladakh. Solomon George Fitzherbert; Fernanda Pirie; Ulrike Roesler; Alice Travers. Yungdrung: A Ramble in Tibetan Studies, Vajra Books, pp.431-480, 2026. ⟨hal-05613599⟩

  • Nils Martin. Object N° 45 – The temple of Wanla: A landmark monument in the art history of Ladakh. Karl Debreczeny; Elena Pakhoutova. Himalayan art in 108 objects, Rubin Museum of Art, 2022. ⟨hal-03893681⟩

  • Nils Martin. La Vie du Bouddha du lHa tho lha khang d’Alchi : un bricolage narratif ?. Vincent Durand-Dastès; François Jacquesson. Narrativité – Comment les images racontent des histoires, Presses de l'Inalco, pp.67-135, 2022, 978-2-85831-402-7. ⟨hal-03778261⟩

  • Nils Martin. The foundation inscription of the Sumtsek. Christian Luczanits. Alchi, Serindia, 2022, ISBN 978-1-932476-97-2. ⟨hal-03893709⟩

  • Désirée de Antoni, Hilde Vets, Nils Martin. On top of the chiefdom: The three-storey tower in Wanla. Alexandra Skedzuhn-Safir; Martina Oeter; Hilde Vets; Heike Pfund. Against forgetting: Investigating and preserving historic buildings in a Himalayan village, Brandenburgische Technische Universität, pp.213-236, 2021, 978-3-940471-62-8. ⟨hal-03778297⟩

  • Hilde Vets, Heike Pfund, Nils Martin, Sandeep Bisht. A passageway to history: Researching and conserving the Kagan Chorten. Alexandra Skedzuhn-Safir; Martina Oeter; Hilde Vets; Heike Pfund. Against forgetting: Investigating and preserving historic buildings in a Himalayan village, Brandenburgische Technische Universität, pp.95-120, 2021, 978-3-940471-62-8. ⟨hal-03778320⟩

  • Nils Martin, Laurianne Bruneau, Martin Vernier. Online publication of rock inscriptions in Tibetan, Himalayan Rock Art Database. 2024. ⟨hal-05073846⟩

  • Laurianne Bruneau, Martin Vernier, Ani Danielyan, Philippe Pons, Abram Pointet, et al.. Archéologie de l’Himalaya : culture matérielle et réseaux du passé. Bilan intermédiaire pour la Ville de Paris dans le cadre du dispositif de soutien à la recherche Emergence(s). 2022. ⟨hal-03896561⟩

  • Nils Martin. The Wanla group of monuments: 14th-century Tibetan Buddhist murals in Ladakh. Art and art history. Ecole pratique des hautes études (EPHE), 2022. English. ⟨NNT : ⟩. ⟨tel-03893751⟩

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