196. ENSEMBLE DE DOUZE FOLIOS DE SCHÉMAS ANATOMIQUES DE LA MÉDECINE TIBÉTAINE TIBET, XIXE/XXE SIÈCLE Himalayan Art Resources item no. 205079 45 x 36 cm (17 3/4 x 14 1/4 in.), the largest A GROUP OF TWELVE FOLIOS WITH ANATOMICAL DIAGRAMS FROM TIBETAN MEDICINE TIBET, 19TH/20TH CENTURY 西藏 十九/二十世紀 藏醫人體解剖圖 一組十二幀 The Gyushi, or Four Tantras, for which most medical illustrations are based, remains the most foundational textual source on Tibetan medical practices dating back to the 12th century. It describes the relationship between the body and the five elements (water, fire, earth, air, and space), the nyepa (bodily fluids), and the environment. Unlike Western medicine, Tibetan medical practice extends beyond the physicality of the body, understanding health and longevity to be inextricably linked to the balance between the mind and body. This non-linear approach where systems of the body and mind overlap as environments within environments—both seen and unseen —comprehend health to include Buddhist practice, ritual, and divination. Depicted here are examples of how those illustrations break up the body in diagrammatical schemes based on balancing the elements within the body. Other examples of these illustrations are further referenced in A. Aris (ed.), Tibetan Medical Paintings: Illustrations to the Blue Beryl Treatise of Sangye Gyamtso (1653-1705), 1992. Provenance: Robrecht Lamdin and Diane de Clerc, Brussels, 2000s