The Tibet House US (THUS) mandate includes collecting diverse examples of Tibetan sacred, fine, and folk arts, with the ultimate goal of repatriating them to a National Museum in a culturally liberated Tibet.

To this end, the Repatriation Collection was established in 1992. This growing collection comprises thangkas, bronzes, ritual objects, and folk art. Generous collectors, deeply concerned about the preservation of Tibetan cultural heritage, have thoughtfully donated representative examples of the vast and sophisticated range of Tibetan arts. These works were created in Tibet over the last thirteen hundred years.

Since the Chinese communist occupation of Tibet in 1949, the majority of these artworks and Buddhist manuscripts have been destroyed, particularly during the Cultural Revolution. Surviving art objects have gradually made their way to museums, individual collections, and the art market. An emerging appreciation of their aesthetic beauty and symbolic meaning has firmly established the world-class quality and distinctive excellence of the Tibetan artistic tradition. 

To learn more visit our main website:  https://thus.org