Handbook of Tibetan Iconometry: A Guide to the Arts of the 17th Century is an impressive act of preservation of a stunning testament to the refinement of Tibetan culture. Aside from its obvious coffee-table appeal, it is a book primarily for specialists in the study of Tibetan intellectual history, seventeenth-century Tibet, and Buddhist art history, particularly the Indo-Tibetan science of iconometry. The heart of the book is a full-color facsimile reproduction of a seventeenth-century Tibetan iconometric handbook, the Cha tshad kyi dpe ris Dpyod ldan yid gsos (Illustrations of measurements: A refresher for the cognoscenti). The handbook was produced by a trio of experts in drawing and penmanship under the auspices and in accordance with the scholarly oeuvre of Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho (1653–1705), the sde srid (civil administrator) of the Fifth Dalai Lama's Dga' ldan pho brang government of Tibet from 1679 to 1705. Handbook of Tibetan Iconometry also includes a brief but cutting-edge introduction to the scholarly output of Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho and the study of Tibetan iconometry, as well as useful appendices. The breathtaking line drawings and examples of Tibetan scripts of the Dpyod ldan yid gsos are more than worth the cost of the book.

The preface and the English-language introduction explain the origin of the Dpyod ldan yid gsos and the manner in which it came to be reproduced here. One can only hope that this collaboration between the Tibetan Autonomous Regional Archives in Lhasa and the International Archives Preservation Trust will produce further invaluable manuscripts. Though not stated explicitly by the authors of the introduction, the Dpyod ldan yid gsos is a treatise that states in word, but more powerfully in imagery, Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho's position on debates within the science of iconometry, presumably in order to apply these principles to the adornment of the Potala Palace, which was under construction at the time of the handbook's production. The editors point us in this direction, for they state that the text takes into account Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho's Vaiḍūra g.ya' sel, his previously known work, which contains, among other things, his views on iconometry. Conveniently, one of the appendices of Handbook of Tibetan Iconometry contains the corresponding passages in the Vaiḍūrya g.ya' sel that provide information about the illustrations in the Dpyod ldan yid gsos.

The introduction also attempts to contextualize the Dpyod ldan yid gsos through examining the greater oeuvre of Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho. Though fascinating, this part of the introduction suffers from two problems: at times it is lacking in detail, and at other times it provides too much. For example, there is a lack of completeness in the discussion of Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho's literary output, such as listing newly discovered works attributed to him by only their poetic titles in Tibetan, some of which provide no clue as to the actual contents of these works. On the other hand, the introduction gets lost in minutiae at best only tangentially related to Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho and of almost no relevance to the Dpyod ldan yid gsos. For example, we are treated to a lengthy examination of Tibetan attempts to translate one pada from the Sarasvatavyākaraṇa grammar of Anubhūtisvarūpa (thirteenth century). The most useful part of the introduction is the partial annotated bibliography of studies of Tibetan iconometry. The authors mention a number of lesser-known works in Tibetan and other languages. This list does not aim for completeness, but rather points the reader in the appropriate direction. To their list, I would add two important publications: the two volumes of collected Tibetan iconometric texts republished in 2001 by Spen pa rdo rje at the Norbulingka Institute in Sidhpur, India, under the title Bod kyi mchog gi lus bzo ‘bur sku’i mdo rgyud thig yig gis brgyad cing rtse gdong rig pa‘i ’byung gnas kyi bzo rtsal gyi byung brjod mthong brgyud lag len man ngag gcig tu bkod pa'i deb ther rin chen sna bdun gyi khra tshom, and the essay by A mdo Byams pa, “Ri mo'i skor gyi dpyad pa sngon med bzo ba rigs pa'i dgongs rgyan,” published in Krung go'i Bod ljongs in 2001, of which I have recently completed an English translation. A mdo Byams pa was recognized as the greatest Tibetan painter of the twentieth century. In his essay on Tibetan iconometry, he engages directly with many of the same topics as Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho, including the legacy of the father of Tibetan iconometry, Sman bla don grub.

The majority of the plates are photographed beautifully, revealing the exquisite details of the drawings. Some of the images are slightly blurry in places, which makes reading some of the captions challenging, but not impossible. Nevertheless, the editors were kind enough to provide a table of legends following the plates.

The end matter includes the aforementioned table of legends and corresponding passages of the Vaiḍūrya g.ya' sel, as well as lists of divinities, scripts, and stūpas. The editors have also transcribed the brief Tibetan text preceding the illustrations of the Dpyod ldan yid gsos, but an English translation of the text would have been a nice addition. The Chinese introduction by Dobis Tsering Gyal is mainly a translation of the Tibetan text accompanying each plate. The editors promise to add a Tibetan introduction in a subsequent edition.

Overall, Handbook of Tibetan Iconometry: A Guide to the Arts of the 17th Century is a stunning work of beauty, a testament to diligence, and an insightful analysis of our present knowledge of Tibetan iconometry and Sde srid Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho.