Mark Rasmussen
International Director
Lot 2
A wood Prajnaparamita manuscript cover Tibet, 13th/14th century
18 September 2013, 10:00 EDT
New YorkSold for US$4,750 inc. premium
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A wood Prajnaparamita manuscript cover
Tibet, 13th/14th century
With Prajnaparamita enthroned at the center holding her sword and displaying the gesture of reassurance, seated on a Newari throne, flanked by Vairocana to her left and Shakyamuni to her right, similarly enthroned with distinct components, and with eight diminutive tathagatas between, the borders with bead and vegetal motifs; the right edge with partial stupa.
5 1/4 x 13 3/4 in. (13 x 35 cm)
With Prajnaparamita enthroned at the center holding her sword and displaying the gesture of reassurance, seated on a Newari throne, flanked by Vairocana to her left and Shakyamuni to her right, similarly enthroned with distinct components, and with eight diminutive tathagatas between, the borders with bead and vegetal motifs; the right edge with partial stupa.
5 1/4 x 13 3/4 in. (13 x 35 cm)
Footnotes
The resplendent throne-backs and foliage here testify to the stylistic influence of Newari artists on Tibetan manuscript covers following their migration from the sacked Buddhist monasteries of India in the 13th century. Selig Brown notes that in earlier examples these elements appear as an integrated mass, seeming more segregated in later pieces dating closer to the 16th century. Additionally, she identifies the lotus buds at the ends of the throne-crossbeams as a datable component, being simpler in form in the 13th century (Selig Brown, Protecting Wisdom, Canada, 2012, pp. 27-32). For a closely related piece in an Asian collection also carved with a stupa on its side, see Xu Tianfu (ed.), Faces of Dharma, Taipei, 2012, no. 124, p. 174.
