Nils Martin
Présentation
Nils MARTIN
Postdoctoral researcher, Leiden University / Associate researcher, Wereldmuseum
Age: 36 – Current address: 16 rue Jules Guesde, 93300 Aubervilliers
Mobile: +33 (0)6 88 78 65 71 / E-mail: nilsmartin@hotmail.fr
QUALIFICATION
2022 PhD degree in Tibetan art history at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (ÉPHÉ, Université Paris Sciences & Lettres, France) Dissertation: ‘The Wanla group of monuments: 14th century Tibetan Buddhist murals in Ladakh’, supervised by Charles Ramble (ÉPHÉ, CRCAO) with Christian Luczanits (SOAS) as co-advisor; research unit: CRCAO Funded by a dissertation fellowship from the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation (2017) and a three-year d from the ÉPHÉ (2012-2015) Selected by the Khyentse Foundation for an Award for Outstanding PhD Dissertation in Buddhist Studies.
2015 Bachelor’s Degree in Tibetan with Honours at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO).
2012 Postgraduate Degree in Asian studies, with Highest Honours, from the École Pratique des Hautes Études. Thesis: “The Wall Paintings of the Tsatsapuri dgon pa in Alchi”, supervised by Charles Ramble.
2011 Master’s Degree in Asian studies, with Highest Honours, from the École Pratique des Hautes Études. Thesis: “The Life of Buddha in the lHa tho lha khang of Alchi”, supervised by Charles Ramble.
2010 Bachelor’s degree in Art history at the École du Louvre (Paris, France). Specialist courses: Art and archaeology of India and Indian-influenced countries, with Honours.
EXPERIENCE
2024-2027 Postdoctoral researcher (3 years starting on the 13/05/2024) – Study of the material culture collected by Johan Van Manen, housed at the Wereldmuseum for the ERC-funded project ‘Locating Literature, Lived Religion, and Lives in the Himalayas: The Van Manen Collection’ led by Berthe Jansen at Leiden University.
2025-2026 Lecturer in Buddhist art at Leiden University.
2023-2024 Research fellow (9 months) – Multidisciplinary study of the early Buddhist rock-carvings accompanied with Tibetan inscriptions in Ladakh and Baltistan thanks to a grant from the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation.
2023 Invited scholar (Kyoto University, Japan, 3 weeks) – Working sessions with Ai Nishida for the programme A comprehensive study of Old Tibetan rock inscriptions in Western Tibet.
2023 Research associate (1 month) – Description and analysis of the illuminations and doodles of 43 Bonpo manuscripts for the project ‘Protecting the kingdom with Tibetan manuscripts: Codicological and historical analysis of the Royal Drangsong collection from Mustang, Nepal’ led by Agnieszka Helman-Ważny at Warsaw University.
2022 Research associate (6 months, part time) – Edition, translation, and cataloguing of 400+ Tibetan rock inscriptions from Ladakh for the project ‘Archéologie de l'Himalaya : culture matérielle et réseaux du passé’ led by Laurianne Bruneau and Martin Vernier with a view to their online publication on the forthcoming Himalayan Rock Art Database.
2010-2017 Teaching assistant (200+ hours) – Courses on the art history of India and Indian-influenced countries to Bachelor students at the École du Louvre.
2016-2017 Cataloguing librarian (9 months, part time) – Inventory and cataloguing of numerous Sanskrit and Tibetan books in the collections of the Bibliothèque universitaire des langues et civilisations (BULAC) for the École Française d’Extrême-Orient (ÉFEO).
2013-2016 Research assistant – Participation to the research project ‘Narrativité’ (PRES Sorbonne Paris Cité).
2014 Project assistant – Organising of the workshop The Many Faces of Ling Gesar: Homage to Rolf Stein, 27th-28th October 2014, Collège de France, Paris (France).
2012 Collaborator – Organising of the annual PhD students’ workshop of the ÉPHÉ Héritages, Transmissions, Évolutions, 8th April 2013, ÉPHÉ, Paris (France).
2011 Exhibition curator – Designing and setting of the photo exhibit Divinités d’entre les cols, images sacrées du Ladakh, 9th-30th April 2011, municipal library, Ludres (France).
2009 Curatorial intern (2 months) – Internship at the Musée national des arts asiatiques-Guimet (Paris, France), partly dedicated to the decadal updating of the collections’ inventory and to the setting of the exhibition Au fil du Dit du Genji.
AWARDS
2024 Finalist for the PhD dissertation prize awarded by the GIS Asie
2023 Khyentse Foundation Award for Outstanding PhD Dissertation in Buddhist Studies for Europe, awarded every two years to one PhD.
2023 Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Early Career Research Fellowship in Buddhist studies awarded by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).
2017 Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Dissertation Fellowship in Buddhist Studies awarded by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).
2015 Mobility grant from the CRCAO.
2012 Three-year PhD fellowship from the ÉPHÉ.
2010 ‘Paris Jeune Aventure’ grant from the Mairie de Paris.
FIELDWORK
2010-2023 Designing, setting and carrying of nine art historical and epigraphic surveys in Ladakh and neighbouring Himalayan regions of India, as well as in Sichian and the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China Total duration: 16 months Funded by the research project ‘Narrativité’ (2014; 2015; 2016), two mobility grants from the CRCAO (2015; 2023), and a ‘Paris Jeune Aventure’ grant from the Mairie de Paris (2010).
MEMBERSHIP
2020-2021: member of the scientific board of the European Society for the Study of Central Asian and Himalayan Civilisations
2014-2021: member of the Achi Association, whichcontributes to the safeguard of the outstanding but endangered cultural heritage in the Himalayas
LANGUAGES
French Native speaker
English Advanced
Tibetan Advanced
Sanskrit Beginner (two-year course from University of Paris III – Sorbonne Nouvelle)
INTERESTS
Cycling, badminton, hiking, and gardening.
ORGANIZED WORKSHOP
2025 Unboxing the Himalayas: On the Creation, Use, and Circulation of Sacred Things and Texts, Leiden, Leiden University, December 12–13 2024, co-organized with Berthe Jansen. https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/events/2024/12/unboxing-the-himalayas.
EDITED VOLUME
Forthcoming Martin, Nils, and Berthe Jansen (eds), Unboxing the Himalayas: On the Creation, Use, and Circulation of Sacred Things and Texts (Vajra Academic), Kathmandu: Vajra Books.
PUBLICATIONS
Forthcoming ‘Beyond the image: Hints on the provenance of the thang kas in the van Manen collection", in Martin, Nils, and Berthe Jansen (eds), Unboxing the Himalayas: On the Creation, Use, and Circulation of Sacred Things and Texts (Vajra Academic), Kathmandu: Vajra Books.
Devers, Quentin, Nils Martin, Edoardo Paolo Ferrari, and Noor Jahan Chunka. ‘Surviving Cataclysms and Time: The Painted Stupas of Ensa from the 9th century (Ladakh)’, submitted to the editors of the Bulletin de l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient, 48 p.
Scherrer-Schaub, Cristina, Kunsang Lama Namgyal, and Nils Martin. ‘Tibetan epigraphy’ In Harter, Kaja, Ondrej Skrabal and Jochen Vennebusch (eds), Handbook of comparative epigraphy. Hamburg: University of Hamburg, Centre for the study of Manuscript Culture (CSMC), 22 p.
‘For the Sake of Lord Sengge Gyalpo: The Nyima Lhakhang of Mulbek’ In Luczanits, Christian (ed.), Visible Heritage 2: Proceedings of the 17th Conference of the International Association of Ladakh Studies, Kargil 2015. New Delhi: Bibliaimpex, 65 p.
‘Kings and Patrons in the Donation Inscription and the Donor Scenes of the ’Du Khang of Mangyu’, Revue d’études tibétaines (special issue in commemoration of Anne Chayet), 120 p.
2023 ‘The temple of Wanla’ In Debreczeny, Karl and Elena Pakhoutova (eds), Himalayan Art in 108 Objects, New York: Rubin Museum of Art, p. 204–207.
‘The Foundation Inscription of the Sumtsek’ In Goepper, Roger and Christian Luczanits (eds), Alchi. Serindia Publications, p. 781–789.
2022 ‘La Vie du Bouddha du lHa tho lha khang d’Alchi : un bricolage narratif ?’ In Jacquesson, François and Vincent Durand-Dastès (eds), Narrativité – Comment les images racontent des histoires, Paris: Presses de l’Inalco, p. 67–135.
2021 De Antoni, Désirée, Hilde Vets, and Nils Martin. ‘On Top of the Chiefdom: The Three-Storey Tower in Wanla’ In Skedzuhn-Safir, Alexandra, Martina Oeter, Hilde Vets, and Heike Pfund (eds), Against Forgetting: Investigating and Preserving Historic Buildings in a Himalayan Village, Cottbus–Senftenberg: Brandenburgische Technische Universität, p. 213–36.
Vets, Hilde, Heike Pfund, Nils Martin, and Sandeep Bisht. ‘A Passageway to History: Researching and Conserving the Kagan Chorten’ In Skedzuhn-Safir, Alexandra, Martina Oeter, Hilde Vets, and Heike Pfund (eds), Against Forgetting: Investigating and Preserving Historic Buildings in a Himalayan Village, Cottbus–Senftenberg: Brandenburgische Technische Universität, p. 95–120.
2020 ‘The Murals of the Lotsawa Lhakhang in Henasku and of a few Related Monuments: A Glimpse into the Politico-religious Situation of Ladakh in the 14th and 15th centuries’, Etudes Mongoles et Sibériennes, Centrasiatiques et Tibétaines (special issue ed. by Quentin Devers, Gerald Kozicz, and Heinrich Poell: Proceedings of the 18th conference of the International Association of Ladakh Studies, Bedlewo 2017), 24 p.
2018 Devers, Quentin, Nils Martin, Tashi Ldawa, and Kacho Mumtaz Khan. ‘Appendix: The Stepped Shrines of Kharul’, Zentralasiatische Studien, 46 [2017], p. 233–76.
‘A Solemn Praise to an 11th Century West-Tibetan Councillor at Kharul, Purik’, Zentralasiatische Studien 46 [2017], p. 189–232.
2016 ‘Review of David Jackson’s Painting Traditions of the Drigung Kagyu School (2015)’, Arts Asiatiques, no. 71, p. 186–189.
MAIN TALKS
2025 ‘Une porte ouverte sur le Tibet : les thangkas de la collection van Manen’, Cycle Actualité de la recherche du Musée Guimet, 19th June, Hôtel d'Heidelbach, Paris (France).
2024 ‘Beyond the Image: Some Hints on the Provenance of the thang kas in the Van Manen Collection’, Workshop Unboxing the Himalayas: On the Creation, Use, and Circulation of Sacred Things and Texts, 12th-13th December, Leiden University, Leiden (Netherlands).
‘Presentation of Tibetan Rock Inscriptions from the Database’, Closing event of the Himalayan rock art project, 14th November, Campus Condorcet, Aubervilliers (France).
‘On Some of the Earliest Tibetan Dedicatory Rock Inscriptions in Western Tibet’, Workshop Dedications on Tibetan Canonical Artefacts – Connecting Literature, Material Culture, and Social Context, 24th-26th October, University of Vienna, Vienna (Austria).
2023 Martin, Nils, Emmanuelle Delqué-Kolic, and Noor Jahan Chunka, ‘Dater le groupe des monuments de Wanla : la mesure par le radiocarbone au service de l’histoire de l’art bouddhique tibétain’, 1ères Journées 20 ans du LMC14, 21st-22nd November, Saclay (France)
‘Old Tibetan Inscriptions West of Tibet’, Workshop Tibetanness Outside Tibet, 19th-21st October, Condorcet Campus, Paris (France).
‘Early Tibetan art and inscriptions west of Tibet’, Workshop on history and culture in Tibet and Ladakh, 27th May, Kyoto University, Kyoto (Japan).
2022 ‘The Wanla Group of Monuments in the Making: A Network of Patrons and Painters in 14th-Century Ladakh’, 16th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, 4th-8th July, Prague (Czech Republic).
Devers, Quentin, Nils Martin, and Abeer Gupta. ‘Surviving Cataclysms and Time: The 8th-9th Centuries Painted Stupas of Ensa (Ladakh)’, CRCAO, 29th June, Paris (France).
2021 ‘Le temple de Wanla (XIVe siècle) : un jalon dans l’histoire de l’art du Ladakh’, Monthly lecture of the European Society for the Study of Central Asian and Himalayan Civilisations (SEECHAC), 23th March, Paris (France).
2019 ‘Below the Peak of a Khyung and Outside the Den of a Tiger: The Inscription of Balukhar Reconsidered’, 15th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, 7th-13th July, Paris (France).
2018 ‘The Horse, the Yak and the King: Animal Metaphors of Royal Power in the Inscriptions and Royal Scenes of Mangyu (Ladakh)’. Conference of the Franco-German research project “Social Status in the Tibetan World (TibStat)”: Animals and Social Status in the Tibetan World, 15th-16th June, Sorbonne, Paris (France).
2017 ‘ “Neither Drink Water Beneath a Man, nor Eat Grass Beneath a Horse.” Models of Governance at Mangyu.’ 18th Colloquium of the International Association for Ladakh Studies (IALS), 2nd-6th May, Bedlewo (Poland).
2016 ‘The lDe, the ’Bro, and the sMer: Inscriptional Evidence from the Temple of Avalokiteshvara at Mangyu’ 14th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, 19th-25th July, Bergen (Norway).
2015 ‘ « Si d’aucuns offrent la vie des filles du royaume du Purig… » Edit et sacrifice dans le Ladakh ancien.’ Programme Rituels du CRCAO, 18th December, Paris (France). Dollfus, Pascale and Nils Martin. ‘Du Kinnaur au Minyag : à propos de quelques peintures de la vie du Buddha dans l’aire culturelle tibétaine.’ Colloque Narrativité, 25th-26th November, INALCO, Paris (France).
‘Tibetan Buddhist Art Along the Himalayas: Comparing 14th-15th Centuries Wall-Paintings from Danba-Minyag and Ladakh.’ 12th October, University of Sichuan, Chengdu (China).
‘An Overview of the Wall-Paintings and Inscriptions in the Old Temple of Mulbek.’ 17th conference of the International Association of Ladakh Studies, 26th-29th July, Kargil (India). Delqué-Kolic, Emmanuelle and Nils Martin. ‘Vers une chronologie des peintures murales des XIVe – XVe siècles au Ladakh, II.’ Colloque du GMPCA, 27th-30th April, Besançon (France).
2014 ‘Les monuments du « groupe de Wanla ».’ Journée doctorale du Centre d’Études Himalayennes (UPR 299), 12th December, Villejuif (France).
‘The Main mchod rten of Nyoma.’ Francke’s Legacy: Archaeological Research in Ladakh, One Hundred Years After, 28th August, Leh (India).
2013 Delqué-Kolic, Emmanuelle and Nils Martin. ‘Vers une chronologie des peintures murales des XIVe – XVe siècles au Ladakh, I.’ Première Journée du Réseau 14C francophone, 14th November, Orsay (France).
‘How to Refine the Inner Chronology of 14th to 15th centuries Ladakhi Wall Paintings? The example of the Guru lha khang of Phiyang and the Cave n°1 of Saspol.’ 13th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, 21th-27th July, Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia).
‘Which Sources for the Life of the Buddha in the lHa tho lha khang of Alchi?’ 16th Conference of the International Association for Ladakh Studies, 17th-20th April, Heidelberg (Germany).
2012 ‘Mi chos/lha chos : intégration de divinités du territoire dans le temple bouddhique en Himalaya occidental », Programme Rituels du CRCAO, 15th June, Paris (France).
Publications
Publications
|
|
The murals of the Lotsawa Lhakhang in Henasku and of a few related monuments. A glimpse into the politico-religious situation of Ladakh in the 14th and 15th centuriesÉtudes mongoles et sibériennes, centrasiatiques et tibétaines, 2020, 51, ⟨10.4000/emscat.4361⟩
Article dans une revue
hal-03160582
v1
|
|
|
Appendix: The Stepped Shrines of KharulZentralasiatische Studien, 2018, 46 [2017], pp.233-276
Article dans une revue
hal-01997945
v1
|
|
|
A Solemn Praise to an 11th century West-Tibetan Councillor at Kharul, PurikZentralasiatische Studien, 2018, 46 [2017], pp.189-232
Article dans une revue
hal-01985396
v2
|
Review of David Jackson's Painting Traditions of the Drigung Kagyu School (2015)Arts Asiatiques, 2016, 71, pp.186-189
Article dans une revue
hal-01985405
v1
|
|
The Petroglyphs of Kharool: The New Alchi of LadakhFlight of the Khyung, 2016
Article dans une revue
hal-01646691
v1
|
The Wanla group of monuments in the making: A network of patrons and painters in 14th-century Ladakh16th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Jul 2022, Prague, Czech Republic
Communication dans un congrès
hal-03893833
v1
|
|
Below the peak of a khyung and outside the den of a tiger: The inscription of Balukhar reconsidered15th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Jul 2019, Paris, France
Communication dans un congrès
hal-03893830
v1
|
|
Neither drink water beneath a man, nor eat grass beneath a horse’: Models of governance at Mangyu18th conference of the International Association of Ladakh Studies, May 2017, Poznan, Poland
Communication dans un congrès
hal-03893828
v1
|
|
The lDe, the 'Bro, and the sMer: Inscriptional evidence from the temple of Avalokiteshvara at Mangyu14th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Jun 2016, Bergen, Norway
Communication dans un congrès
hal-03893825
v1
|
|
An overview of the wall-paintings and inscriptions in the old temple of Mulbek17th conference of the International Association of Ladakh Studies, Jul 2015, Kargil, India
Communication dans un congrès
hal-03893771
v1
|
|
Vers une chronologie des peintures murales des XIVème – XVème siècles au Ladakh, IIColloque du GMPCA - Archéométrie, May 2015, Besançon, France
Communication dans un congrès
hal-03893840
v1
|
|
The Kankani Chorten at Nyoma: An outstanding funerary monument for Lord Bhag Darskyab?Francke’s legacy: Archaeological research in Ladakh, one hundred years after, Aug 2014, Leh, India
Communication dans un congrès
hal-03893769
v1
|
|
Vers une chronologie des peintures murales des XIVème – XVème siècles au Ladakh, I1ère journée du réseau 14C francophone, Nov 2013, Orsay, France
Communication dans un congrès
hal-03893837
v1
|
|
Which sources for the Life of the Buddha in the lHa tho lha khang of Alchi?16th Conference of the International Association for Ladakh Studies, Apr 2013, Heidelberg, Germany
Communication dans un congrès
hal-03893763
v1
|
|
How to refine the inner chronology of 14th to 15th centuries Ladakhi wall paintings? The example of the Guru lha khang of Phiyang and the Cave n°1 of Saspol13th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Jul 2013, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Communication dans un congrès
hal-03893759
v1
|
Object N° 45 – The temple of Wanla: A landmark monument in the art history of LadakhKarl Debreczeny; Elena Pakhoutova. Himalayan art in 108 objects, Rubin Museum of Art, 2022
Chapitre d'ouvrage
hal-03893681
v1
|
|
La Vie du Bouddha du lHa tho lha khang d’Alchi : un bricolage narratif ?Vincent Durand-Dastès; François Jacquesson. Narrativité – Comment les images racontent des histoires, Presses de l'Inalco, pp.67-135, 2022, 978-2-85831-402-7
Chapitre d'ouvrage
hal-03778261
v1
|
|
The foundation inscription of the SumtsekChristian Luczanits. Alchi, Serindia, 2022, ISBN 978-1-932476-97-2
Chapitre d'ouvrage
hal-03893709
v1
|
|
Surviving cataclysms and time: the painted stupas of Ensa from the 8th-9th centuries (Ladakh)Gerald Kozicz and Heinrich Poell. Inroads and Outroads: Cultural connectivitiy across the Western Himalayas and the Karakorum, TU Graz, 2022
Chapitre d'ouvrage
hal-03884284
v1
|
|
On top of the chiefdom: The three-storey tower in WanlaAlexandra Skedzuhn-Safir; Martina Oeter; Hilde Vets; Heike Pfund. Against forgetting: Investigating and preserving historic buildings in a Himalayan village, Brandenburgische Technische Universität, pp.213-236, 2021, 978-3-940471-62-8
Chapitre d'ouvrage
hal-03778297
v1
|
|
A passageway to history: Researching and conserving the Kagan ChortenAlexandra Skedzuhn-Safir; Martina Oeter; Hilde Vets; Heike Pfund. Against forgetting: Investigating and preserving historic buildings in a Himalayan village, Brandenburgische Technische Universität, pp.95-120, 2021, 978-3-940471-62-8
Chapitre d'ouvrage
hal-03778320
v1
|
Online publication of rock inscriptions in Tibetan, Himalayan Rock Art Database2024
Autre publication scientifique
hal-05073846
v1
|
The Wanla group of monuments: 14th-century Tibetan Buddhist murals in LadakhArt and art history. Ecole pratique des hautes études (EPHE), 2022. English. ⟨NNT : ⟩
Thèse
tel-03893751
v1
|