Liske Collection of Antique Tibetan Textiles, Carpets and Artifacts Press Release
The Bill Liske Collection of Antique Tibetan Textiles, Carpets and Artifacts is the culmination of Liske's three decades of travel and work in the Himalayas. A lifelong mountaineer, Liske originally visited Nepal in 1974 for the climbing opportunities of its terrain, and was drawn in by the society and its culture. On this trip, he met a gentleman named Jigme Choden, whom Liske describes as his “Tibetan Textile Guru.” With the formation of this friendship, the seed for this spectacular collection was planted. Liske continued to travel to the region, and in the early 1980s he began working as a guide; his expertise in Nepal, Ladakh, Tibet, Sikkim and Bhutan make him one of the most knowledgeable western guides for the area. During this time, he also developed a relationship with many textile dealers and pickers, some of whom would even save fine works for him that they found exciting. Liske continued to learn about the world of these woven artworks from Jigme, other Tibetan textile dealers, and knowledgeable dealers with whom he made connections in the United States. However, he has proved over the years to have an uncanny, almost preternatural ability to distinguish the excellent and the rare [...]