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Lot 46

A silk brocaded panel with Buddhist mantra
Ming, circa 16th century

Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art
17 March 2014, 13:00 EDT
New York

US$15,000 - US$25,000

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A silk brocaded panel with Buddhist mantra

Ming, circa 16th century
Silk brocade in tabby weave, interwoven
with paper faced with gold leaf; with Lantsa script: Om mani padme hum.
8½ x 26 1/8 in. (21.5 x 66.5 cm)

Footnotes

As noted by Brown (2000, pp.37-39), "In later imperial China and in Tibet, Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism flourished and was supported by the rulers in both regions. The high level of textile techniques stems from the long development of the silk industry in China, and works from China were often gifted to Tibetan Buddhist lamas or high-ranking monks. This sumptuous horizontal silk panel features a Buddhist mantra (sacred prayer) in lantsa-script characters in a single row of seven characters. The characters represent the transliteration of a Sanskrit invocation or prayer. They are written in an Indic script used in Nepal and Tibet for Buddhist invocations or prayers — and also in China for Tibetan Tantric prayers. The first six syllables comprise a mantra that reads, from left to right Om mani padme hum, which is generally translated as O, the jewel in the lotus. This widely repeated mantra refers to the sacred and secret Vajrayana teachings of Tibet, comparing them to the most precious and pure of all things. The seventh syllable, which reads hri is a 'seed character,' or syllable that symbolizes Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara with whom this mantra is traditionally associated. To preserve their efficacy, all mantras and dharanis (invocations) are spoken or chanted using the original Sanskrit sounds, even when translated into Chinese or Tibetan, as the sounds themselves are believed to have mystical powers, even if their meaning is incomprehensible to those who hear them."

Published:
Claudia Brown and Robert Mowry, Weaving China's Past: The Amy S. Clague Collection of Chinese Textiles, Phoenix, 2000, pp. 37-39
Janet Baker, Sacred World and Image, Phoenix Art Museum, January 5 - March 25, 2012, no. 10a-b

Exhibited:
Weaving China's Past: The Amy S. Clague Collection of Chinese Textiles, Phoenix Art Museum, 2000
Sacred World and Image, Phoenix Art Museum, January 5 - March 25, 2012

Provenance:
Amy Clague Collection, Phoenix, AZ

Additional information

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