Zitationsvorschlag
Lizenz (Kapitel)
Dieses Werk steht unter der Lizenz Creative Commons Namensnennung - Weitergabe unter gleichen Bedingungen 4.0 International.
Identifier (Buch)
Veröffentlicht
What makes ‘Tibetan paper’ Tibetan?
Understanding the materiality of Tibetan paper
Paper, as a writing support, is an integral element of the materiality of Tibetan books together with the technologies of their production. Analysis of the material features of the paper used in Tibetan written artefacts can help us to unravel their provenance, which is often unknown. First, however, we need a relatively clear understanding of the characteristic features of paper produced within particular book cultures and geographical regions at particular periods of time. This chapter offers a starting point by discussing the general characteristics of paper that originated in Tibet. Drawing on macro- and microscopic studies, it highlights the wide variety of paper types that have been used as writing supports in Tibetan written artefacts, before examining in more detail the raw materials, papermaking technologies and processes, and writing surface preparations that might justify the descriptor ‘Tibetan’ and thus grant Tibetan identity to paper.
Keywords Tibet, material culture, written artefacts, paper, Tibetan books, paper production, paper analysis, provenance, papermaking plants
