René Nebesky-Wojkowitz Text Collections

The overall collection holds 181 titles, including 38 titles from Nebesky-Wojkowitz’s private collection. The largest part of the collection consists of Tibetan manuscripts and blockprints. In addition to the 160 Tibetan titles – catalogued under 69 inventory numbers – the collection includes 21 further texts written in Lepcha, Newari, Naxi, Farsi and Sanskrit. All texts were meticulously photographed and analyzed, with a focus on format, genre, content, and provenance. The religious affiliation of the texts reflects a strong presence of Nyingma, Kagyü, and Gelug material, with prayers and ritual texts being predominant. Nebesky-Wojkowitz's close ties with Tibetan teachers such as Dardo Rinpoche or Chimed Rigdzin and local traders greatly influenced the composition of the collection, which also includes rare texts translated by Nebesky-Wojkowitz himself. Moreover, the collection features manuscripts acquired during Nebesky-Wojkowitz's collaboration with Joseph Rock, exemplified by two Naxi manuscripts donated by Rock himself.