Buddhas in the West Material Archive

Introduction

Welcome! The Buddhas in the West Material Archive is a digital scholarship and social media project that catalogues artifacts depicting Buddhist material culture for Western audiences. Our research is driven by a fundamental question: How did a visual literacy of Buddhism spread across the globe in the modern era?

We explore how four centuries of advancements in travel and print technology motivated the exposure of Buddhist material culture to audiences far beyond Asia. Through the close examination of archival artifacts, we also invite broader inquiries into the complex histories of colonialism, immigration, and commodification.

The Buddhas in the West Material Archive comprises a wide variety of print media, ephemera, and other materials produced before World War II. The collection currently includes:

  • Early Modern Print: 17th and 18th-century copperplate engravings and early lithographs
  • Golden Age of Illustration: 19th-century newspaper boxwood engravings, political cartoons, Victorian trade cards, and early illustrated magazine advertising
  • Early Photography: Albumen prints, stereoviews, magic lantern slides, and silent movie lobby cards & production stills
  • Early Travel Ephemera: postcards, tourist maps, travel brochures, and luggage tags

We hope this project reveals the diversity in which Buddhist statues, temple architecture, and Buddhist practitioners were depicted and disseminated in the West up through the early twentieth century.

The Buddhas in the West Material Archive is designed to engage a broad and diverse audience, bridging the gap between specialized academic research and public religious literacy.

Currently, the project lives where the public gathers: on social media. Each curated social media installment functions as a micro-study, providing essential historical context and critical analysis for a single artifact within the collection. This digital-first approach ensures that these rare historical materials remain accessible, interactive, and relevant to a modern audience.

Currently, each post is released on Bluesky (@buddhasinthewest.bsky.social) and Instagram (@buddhas.in.the.west). These micro-study posts are also archived on this website below.

Finally, other resources found below include links to a Google map of sites pertinent to posted artifacts, related teaching materials, exhibit information, and published scholarship.

Archived Social Media Posts

A log of each social media post is archived on this website.

Buddhas in the West Archived Social Media Posts

The most recent archived posts can be found in the carousel below.

Google map showing relevant locations of archived artifacts.

Buddhas in the West Google Map

General overview for how to perform a material analysis and introduction to crafting an object biography [with PDF]

Example questions for performing a material analysis (tailored for a university Religious Studies course)[with PDF]

The Buddhas in the West Material Archive is a digital public scholarship project that catalogues artifacts depicting Buddhist material culture for Western audiences. Further inquires can be directed to peter.romaskiewicz[at]gmail.com.