
Dora Tan
Head of Sale, Specialist
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Sold for US$15,300 inc. premium
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Head of Sale, Specialist

International Director
印度東北部 十二世紀初 彩繪木質護經板
This finely painted wood cover was originally one of a pair protecting a sacred palm-leaf manuscript. The illuminated inner side centers Lord Vishnu sitting on Garuda, his half-bird half-human divine mount. A protector of the universe, Vishnu is ready at a moment's notice to descend to earth and restore order. Here he is flanked by two female figures, likely his two wives - Sridevi (Lakshmi) and Bhudevi (Earth Goddess), with two further adepts and divine figures on each side.
A closely related Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita manuscript is preserved in the Cleveland Museum of Art (1938.301). Compare particularly the petal design of the mandorla, the sensual treatment of the figures, and the red background interspersed with flowers shared by the present lot. The Cleveland manuscript was commissioned as a pious gift by a Nepalese monk at the famous monastic university of Vikramashila in northeastern India in 1119, with its text written by an Indian scribe and the paintings likely done by a Nepalese artist.
Provenance:
Ex-Estate of Peter Marks (1935-2010), New York