Buddhist relics in Mexico City

The exhibition “Buddha's marks” ( Las huellas de Buda ) is a cultural and philosophical approach to Buddhism from its origins and until today; it was inaugurated on July 20 in the National Anthropology Museum ( MNA ).

The exhibition gathers over 250 pieces from 17 different Asian countries for the first time. The pieces belong to museums like the LACMA , the MET , and other private collections .

According to Michael Govan , the LACMA's director , the exhibition brings together museographic pieces from several collections in the museum, some of them have never been exhibited before . He said that “It's an extremely important collection for the LACMA, but it's important to highlight that it's not just one collection. We have cultural heritages from all over the world, but they are usually organized geographically, we have a Chinese art department, a Japanese one, one from India, the wonderful thing about this exhibition is that it gathers all these pieces”, after touring the exhibition.

The exhibition was curated by Karina Romero Blanco , and you will be able to appreciate 25 pieces that have never been seen before. Govan said that: “some of these pieces have been kept away, they haven't been displayed for decades”.

Inside the exhibition, you can appreciate sculptures of Buddha , paintings on silk or made with vegetable pigments , small silver shrines , images in paper, wood, and marble. Pieces that date back to the 1st century and up to the 19th century , that narrate different moments in this school of thought, starting with an introduction about Siddhartha Gautama , the rituals , and ceremonies used to “reach specific goals in the practice of Buddha-dharma”.

Originally

, the pieces come from countries like India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Nepal, Tibet, China, Japan , and other Asian countries where these culture and disciplines are part of their identity.

The Culture Secretary , María Cristina García Cepeda , said that the exhibition allows “to establish a dialogue with millenarian cultures, it's a recognition to the others' identit y”.

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