Erika Forte

Erika Forte is an Associated Researcher (2019-2024), focusing on Buddhist art and archaeology in Eastern Central Asia and China. Previously, she held roles including Research Associate at BuddhistRoad (2018-2019) and a Former Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg (until 2017). She earned a Ph.D. in Indian and East-Asian Art from Genova University (2002), an MA in Chinese Archaeology from Xi’an Northwest University (1997), and a University degree in Art History and Archaeology of Central Asia from Università ‘La Sapienza’, Rome (1996).

Her research investigates cultural flows and Buddhist visual communication across Asia during the 1st millennium CE, combining archaeological, artistic, and textual sources. Recent work emphasizes cultural interconnections between the Tarim Basin’s oases (e.g., Khotan) and regions like the Himalayas, China, and India. She contributed to the Fengxiansi Monastery excavation project (1997-2005) and held a post-doctoral fellowship at Kyoto University (2004-2006). At the University of Vienna, she taught Chinese Art and Archaeology (2007-2013) and worked on the Cultural History of the Western Himalaya project.

Erika co-edited Crossing Borders: Tibet in dialogue with its Neighbors (2015) and maintains the online bibliography database ‘Cultural History of the Western Himalaya and Adjacent Areas’. Her recent research explores legendary accounts and Buddhist monasteries in the Khotan oasis, emphasizing archaeological and art-historical reassessment.