just in time, as before our eyes the modernization of the State was being conducted in a very emphatic manner. Down the main bazaar of Katmandu a row of electric light standards was being erected, and with the present progressive policy of the Nepal Durbar in other directions, the old is, almost hourly, giving place to the new.
For some years my duties have brought me into close touch with a unique collection of the art productions of Tibet and Nepal, and I have been able from time to time to add to this as occasion offered. A study of these specimens, however, was in no sense satisfying—owing to that barrier which naturally arises in connection with all Museum research. I refer to the scarcity of information regarding the object for which these specific works of art were devised, the dearth of any knowledge appertaining to the particular circumstances in which they were created, the lack of evidence relating to the religious atmosphere with which they were surrounded, and ignorance as to their general local associations. Before the full significance of this Central Asian school of art
