Observe some of the wonderful objects in our current collection. As always, we have a great array of wood and silvered bronze Buddhas, gods and goddesses to inspire you toward your enlightenment.

     Our barn is inhabited by a whole menagerie of whimsical animals. Folk-art tigers can be seen leaping stylishly, while elephants curl their trunks. Gaze upon unsuspecting garden frogs, Peruvian walking fish and handsome wooden horses. We're particularly proud of our finely carved black rhinos.

     If you love wood, come admire our collection of burl boxes and exquisitely patterned burl slabs. As you know, architectural details can make a house. We have carved Florentine corner braces and ornaments, some of them gilded. Note that a new selection of antique cache boxes has arrived.

     When you come in we'll ring a Burmese Temple Gong for you from our excellent selection. We have antique Tibetan Singing Bowls, each one with a penetrating harmonic tone. If you're looking for Tibetan ritual objects, we have bell and dorje sets and tingsha chimes, all hand selected for the best sound.

Inspired Planet in News and the Arts

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Composer
Creates Experimental Orchestral Theatre

The ethereal sound "which came out of nowhere" in Tan Dun"s multi-media musical performance at Tanglewood (July 1999) was created by Singing Bowls borrowed from the collection of Inspired Planet. The controversial composition, "Red Forecast", featured exotic Eastern sounds and surrealistic voice playing with symphony instruments. The orchestra was staged dramatically under a film montage.

Just under the screen was a full array of timpani drums, cymbals and gongs. The three percussionists held Tibetan Singing Bowls with which they created a serene and otherworldly tone. These antique instruments from the Himalayas were once used by Buddhist lamas in sacred ritual.

In 1998, Tan Dan won the world's most prestigious prize for composers for his cross-cultural opera, "Marco Polo". In "Red Forecast" he collaborates with video artist, Michael Norman who uses, footage from the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the American 1960's and the War in Vietnam.

Concerning the cultural separation of music, world events, society and nature, Tan Dan says,"Actually, such isolation began only a few hundred years ago, while the history of music as an integral part of spiritual
life, as ritual, as shared participation, is as old as humanity itself. The idea of an "orchestral theatre" gradually came to me as a way of finding this lost unity and bringing the performing arts back to the
audience. I began to see the orchestra itself as a dramatic medium which could once again bridge the creative and the re-creative, completing the circle of spiritual life."

These thoughts are very much in the spirit of Inspired Planet.