Gentle Gaia (Chamise Khoryug)
Tenzin Norbu Gurung, Nepalese, born 1971
2016-2017
Acrylic and gouache on canvas
Overall: 58 13/16 × 40 3/8 in. (149.4 × 102.5 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through a gift from Evelyn A. and William B. Jaffe, Class of 1964H, by exchange
2017.19
Geography
Place Made: Himalayan Region, Nepal, South Asia, Asia
Period
21st century
Object Name
Painting
Research Area
Painting
On view
Label
Depictions of mothers feeding babies hold spiritual symbolism and significance across cultures. This painting features tsampa—a barley-flour gruel made with Tibetan butter tea that is a staple across the Himalayan region. Besides the tsampa, the painting features other culturally
specific elements, including yaks and a stylized Nepalese landscape of mountains, rivers, and clouds. The land sustains the local ingredients and traditional meals that first nourished our mothers. In turn, mothers are our first connection to food, even before we are born. This is reinforced by the composition of the mother as she spoonfeeds tsampa and breastfeeds while encircled by the Himalayan terrain. Do you remember your first foods, and do they connect you to specific people and places?
Course History
ANTH 32, AMES 26, Anthropology of Tibet and the Himalayas, Kenneth Bauer, Winter 2019
GEOG 11, Qualitative methods and Research Process in Geography, Abby Neely, Winter 2019
ANTH 64, The Evolution of Pregnancy, Zaneta Thayer, Spring 2019
GEOG 11, Qualitative Methods and Research Process in Geography, Abby Neely, Fall 2019
ANTH 50.17, Rites of Passage, Sienna Craig, Spring 2020
ANTH 32, Anthropology of Tibet and Himalayas, Kenneth Bauer, Summer 2020
ASCL 51.06/REL 41.07, Buddhism Sex, Gender in South East Asia, Sara Swenson, Spring 2022
HIST 96.01, Colonialism and Culture in Asia and Africa, Douglas Haynes, Spring 2022
REL 43.01, Buddhism in America, Reiko Ohnuma, Spring 2022
Art History 34.01, Arts of Tibet, Xiaotin Yin, Winter 2023
Art History 34.01, Asian Societies, Cultures and Languages 52.02, Arts of Tibet, Xiaotin Yin, Winter 2023
Anthropology 32.01, Anthropology of Tibet & Himalayas, Sienna Craig, Winter 2024
Exhibition History
From the Field: Tracing Foodways Through Art, Owen Robertson Cheatham Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 8-November 3, 2024.
Provenance
Dolpo Art Gallery, Kathmandu, Nepal; sold to present collection, 2017.
This record is part of an active database that includes information from historic documentation that may not have been recently reviewed. Information may be inaccurate or incomplete. We also acknowledge some language and imagery may be offensive, violent, or discriminatory. These records reflect the institution’s history or the views of artists or scholars, past and present. Our collections research is ongoing.
We welcome questions, feedback, and suggestions for improvement. Please contact us at: Hood.Collections@dartmouth.edu