Amy Heller is an American Tibetologist and art historian.

Biography

Since 1986, Heller has been associated with the Center National de la recherche scientifique in Paris and subsequently also to the Tibetan and Himalayan Library. She studied Art History at

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

(B. A. cum laude 1973) and Tibetan language and civilisation at the National Institute of Oriental Languages in Paris (diploma in 1979). She earned her Ph.D. in 1992 in philology and history of Tibet at the École pratique des hautes études in Paris. She is currently visiting professor since 2007 at the Centre for Tibetan Studies, University of Sichuan,

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

, China. She was visiting professor at

La Sapienza The Sapienza University of Rome ( it, Sapienza – Università di Roma), also called simply Sapienza or the University of Rome, and formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a public research university located in Rome, Ita ...

, university of Rome, Italy, in 2006 and 2008. Heller has traveled numerous times to the

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...

, Nepal and also traveled along parts of the Silk Route including

Dunhuang Dunhuang () is a county-level city in Northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Dunhuang was a major ...

and the Qinghai regions, where she investigated Tibetan tombs in Dulan, Qinghai in 1997. Since 1995, she worked in a project to restore Tibetan architecture in Tibetan monasteries, notably Grathang and Zhalu, Iwang. She was appointed by the Swiss Federal government to supervise the roof restoration project of the

Ramoche Temple Ramoche Temple (; ) is a Buddhist monastery in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region. It dates back to the seventh century and is considered to be the most important temple in the city after the Jokhang Temple. Situated in the northwestern part of the ...

, Lhasa, from 2004 to 2006, under the auspices of the Swiss Ministry of Culture and the Swiss Foreign Affairs. She published in 1999 ''Art et Sagesses du Tibet''; in English, Tibetan Art Tracing the development of Spiritual Ideals and Art in Tibet 600–2000. In addition to the French and the English editions, Italian and Spanish translations were published by JAca book and Libsa SA, respectively. In 2007, she published the catalogue of the Ashmolean Museum, Early Himalayan Art. This catalogue is now online in the Jameel Centre of the Ashmolean Museum. In 2009, she published Hidden Treasures of the Himalayas Tibetan manuscripts, paintings and sculptures of

Dolpo Dolpo ( bo, དོལ་པོ ) is a high-altitude culturally Tibetan region in the upper part of the Dolpa District of western Nepal, bordered in the north by China.. Part of the region lies in Shey Phoksundo National Park. The sparse, agro ...

, Serindia publications, Chicago, 2009 (see www.Serindia.com). In addition, she has published on architecture and Tibetan art, Tibetan history, some 75 articles and museum catalogues, working with the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...

, Oxford (England),

Musée Guimet The Guimet Museum (full name in french: Musée national des arts asiatiques-Guimet; MNAAG; ) is an art museum located at 6, place d'Iéna in the XVIe arrondissement, 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. Literally translated into English, its ful ...

, Paris (France), the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, New York, the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

, and the Tibetan collection of The

Newark Museum The Newark Museum of Art (formerly known as the Newark Museum), in Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, United States, is the state's largest museum. It holds major collections of American art, decorative arts, contemporary art, and arts of Asia, Af ...

, Newark, NJ. Heller several times was curator for exhibitions in Tibetan art, including for the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and Yale University Art Gallery, both part of Yale University. In the mid-2000s, she worked on research of 650 volumes of Tibetan manuscripts from the late 11th to early 12th to the 16th century on the cultural history of Dolpo temple in Nepal, resulting in the 2009 book: Hidden Treasures of the Himalayas: Tibetan manuscripts, paintings and sculptures of Dolpo. 2011–2013, Heller has been a research associate at the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...

. 2014–2016, Heller has been lecturer on Tibetan Archaeology at the National Institute of Oriental Languages (INALCO Paris). 2017–2018, Heller taught at

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It ...

invited by the Institute of Science of Religions and Central Asian Studies. Subsequently, she is affiliated with this institute and taught Art and Architecture of Tibet and Mongolia in 2019–2020.

Bibliography

*Heller, Amy (1999) ''Art et Sagesse du Tibet'', Zodiaque, *Heller, Amy (1999) "Tibetan Art: Tracing the Development of Spiritual Ideals and Art in Tibet 600-2000 A.D." Jaca Book/Antique Collectors' Club, *Heller, Amy (2007) Early Himalayan Art, Ashmolean Museum, *Heller, Amy (2009) "Hidden Treasures of the Himalayas Tibetan manuscripts, paintings and sculptures of Dolpo", Serindia Publications, * Valrae Reynolds, Amy Heller, Janet Gyatso & Dan Martin (1999) ''From the Sacred Realm,'' Prestel Publishing, *Blondeau, Anne-Marie, Katia Buffetrille, Amy Heller (contribution), et al. (2002) ''Le Tibet est-il chinois?'', Albin Michel, *Rocca, Donald La, J. Clarke, Lozang Jamspal (contribution) & Amy Heller (contribution) (2006) ''Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet,'' Yale University Press, Collection: Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heller, Amy Tibetologists American art historians Living people American women art historians Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women American women curators American curators