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Rare Tibetan and Nepalese Art Coming to the Met

 A new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 FIfth Ave. at East 82nd Street, highlighting Himalayan masterpieces begins on Sept. 18, 2013.
Tibetan Art Show at the Met
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UPPER EAST SIDE —  Some of the "rarest and most important" TIbetan and Nepalese artwork will soon be on display in a new show at the Met, museum officials said. 

Starting Sept. 17, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Masterpieces of Tibetan and Nepalese Art: Recent Acquisitions" will showcase 13 newly acquired works from the Himalayas.

The exhibition "will include five sculptures that are among the rarest and most important such objects to enter a Western collection, along with examples of the finest Tibetan and Nepalese paintings known," the Museum said.

The works come from the family collection of Jack and Muriel Zimmerman, who have contributed to "almost every major exhibition of Himalayan art mounted over the past four decades,"  John Guy, an Asian art curator at the Met, said in a statement.

"They will have a transformative impact on Metropolitan’s ability to present Tibetan and Nepalese art of the highest caliber,” he added.

For instance, visitors can see the famed Sakyamuni Buddha — a 12th century brass structure said to be "the finest example of its kind."

Another highlight inclues an "imposing bronze portrait" of Padmasambhava, the Indian saint said to have introduced Buddhism to Tibet, according to the Museum.

"Masterpieces of Tibetan and Nepalese Art: Recent Acquisitions" will be on display until Feb. 2 2014.