From February 27 to April 7, 2026, the MAO Museum of Oriental Art, in collaboration with the Borghese Gallery in Rome, presents to the public for the first time in Europe two extraordinary works by the tulku Zanabazar, a spiritual master and incredible artist and innovator of the 17th century.

Born in the Mongolian steppes in 1635, Zanabazar was a prominent figure of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia at that time, so much so that he was recognized with the name Öndör Gegeen, His Holiness the Enlightened, and the first Khutuktu Jebtsundamba, the highest religious authority of the reformed Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) school of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia, revered as the reincarnation of one of the five hundred original disciples of the Buddha. Declared the spiritual leader of the Mongols in 1639, when he was only four years old, he was also recognized by the 5th Dalai Lama (1617-1682) as the reincarnation of the Indian Buddhist scholar Taranatha.

Over nearly 60 years, Zanabazar promoted the Gelugpa reformed school among the Mongolian population (to which the Dalai Lama also belongs), supplanting the Sakya or "Red Hat" traditions (or ancient pre-Gelugpa school) that had previously prevailed in the area, and profoundly influenced the social and political developments of 17th-century Mongolia.

In addition to being a brilliant scholar and a prominent spiritual authority, Zanabazar was also a versatile artist: some works signed by him have come down to us, a rare practice in Buddhist religious production.

Zanabazar is considered the greatest Mongolian sculptor of his time: to him and the members of his school are attributed the greatest works created in modern Mongolia, including an extraordinary Green Tara and a self-portrait sculpture in bronze of Zanabazar himself on a throne. Exhibited from January 20 to February 22, 2026, in the entrance hall of the Borghese Gallery in Rome, the two masterpieces are on display at the MAO in Turin from February 27 to April 7, 2026, within the section of the permanent collection dedicated to South and Central Asia and the Himalayan region, creating a dialogue with artifacts from the Himalayas, especially from the ancient Densatil monastery in Central Tibet, which inspired Zanabazar's sculptural creations and religious paintings.