Dora Tan
Specialist
Lot 516
THREE DOUBLE-SIDED ILLUMINATED PAGES FROM A PRAJNAPARAMITA SUTRA
WEST TIBET, 11TH/12TH CENTURY
21 March 2023, 18:00 EDT
New YorkUS$20,000 - US$30,000
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THREE DOUBLE-SIDED ILLUMINATED PAGES FROM A PRAJNAPARAMITA SUTRA
WEST TIBET, 11TH/12TH CENTURY
Opaque watercolor and ink on paper.
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 1404
7 x 17 3/4 in. (17.8 x 45.1 cm);
6 3/8 x 19 3/4 in. (16.2 x 50.3 cm);
6 3/4 x 18 3/4 in. (17.2 x 47.6 cm)
Opaque watercolor and ink on paper.
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 1404
7 x 17 3/4 in. (17.8 x 45.1 cm);
6 3/8 x 19 3/4 in. (16.2 x 50.3 cm);
6 3/4 x 18 3/4 in. (17.2 x 47.6 cm)
Footnotes
藏西 十一/十二世紀 《般若波羅蜜多心經》雙面彩繪經頁三頁
The following lot consists of three double-sided pages from the Prajnaparamita sutra in 100,000 verses. Elegantly written in Tibetan calligraphy, each side includes an illumination of a Buddhist deity enveloped within a prismatic mandorla at the center. One figure is of the Tathagata Akshobya as a blue-skinned, crowned Buddha in the earth-witnessing gesture; the second of Padmapani by his red skin and a flower bud held in his right hand rendered in graduated white, pink, and red washes; and the third of a white bodhisattva balancing what appears to be a small, golden wheel, or discus, in the palm of his right hand. On the reverses is a similarly modelled Buddha seated in the gesture of meditation, each with golden skin and a radiating nimbus of blue and pink shades encircling their heads.
Much of the confident brushwork and even use of pressure in the calligraphy, particularly in the length and thickness of the characters, reflect the methodical and decisive qualities of the scribe, perhaps due to his familiarity and own countless recitations of this sutra. In terms of style and iconography, the figures within this set are largely informed by the art that was introduced into Western Tibet from the North Indian regions of Kashmir. These characteristics are especially notable in the triangular crowns, ample lower abdomens, delineated navels, protruding eyes in three-quarter view, and attractive use of gold pigment which closely relate to a set of 11th century folios that were painted by Kashmiri artists for the Tholing monastery in West Tibet. See three such illuminated examples from the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.81.90.8, M.81.90.11 & M.81.90.14). Also see several pages from the same painting set (HAR 7806-19; 36470-82).
Provenance:
Private Collection