Pair of Manuscript Covers with Buddhist Deities

late 11th century

Not on view

This pair of wooden covers protected the palm-leaf folios of a Buddhist sacred text. One cover has the nine Buddhist goddesses, each holding a staff surmounted by the wish-fulfilling jewel (cintamani), while the other cover has the five transcendental Buddhas flanked by four bodhisattvas. Painted on the interior, the iconography offers a protective field to the holy text within, in this case likely the Perfection of Wisdom text, the Ashtasathasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Pair of Manuscript Covers with Buddhist Deities
Date: late 11th century
Culture: Nepal (Kathmandu Valley)
Medium: Distemper on wood
Dimensions: Each: 2 1/8 x 22 1/8 in. (5.4 x 56.2 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Fletcher and Rogers Funds, 1976
Object Number: 1976.192.1, .2
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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