Prajnaparamita with Devotees, Folio from a Shatasahasrika Prajnaparamita (The Perfection of Wisdom in 100,000 Verses)

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Prajnaparamita with Devotees, Folio from a Shatasahasrika Prajnaparamita (The Perfection of Wisdom in 100,000 Verses)

Western Tibet, Maryul district, Tholing Monastery, 11th century
Manuscripts
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Illustration: 4 7/8 x 10 3/4 in. (27.3 x 12.4 cm); Folio: 7 1/2 x 26 1/8 in. (19. x 66.3 cm)
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, purchased with funds provided by the Jane and Justin Dart Foundation (M.81.90.6)
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

...
This folio, and its series mates M.81-90-7-.17, are among the earliest examples of Tibetan manuscript painting that have yet come to light. They were discovered by the renowned Tibetologist Guiseppe Tucci (1894-1984), who recovered them in the ruins of the great monastic complex at Tholing in western Tibet. Tholing was founded in the 10th century by one of the most important figures of the Second Propagation of the Buddhist Faith, Rincen Zangpo (958-1055), who studied Buddhism in Kashmir and brought Kashmiri artists back with him to western Tibet. The text o9f thte manuscript had previously been identified as the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita (The Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Verses) (Pal (1983) 1990, 123-126), but in 2006 was reidentified by Paul Harrison as being the Shatasahasrika Prajnaparamita (The Perfection of Wisdom in 100,000 Verses). Also known as the Large Sutra on the Perfection of Wisdom, it is classified as one of the "Maha [Large] Prajnaparamita Sutras." The Prajnaparamita Sutras are a family of Mahayana Buddhist texts that are grouped by length: Short (18,000 lines), Medium (25,000 lines), or Large (100,000 lines). They exhibit linguistic and doctrinal relationships, both similarities and differences, to the core Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita (The Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Verses) dating from at least the 1st century BCE. Early western Tibetan manuscripts exhibit a preference for brilliant colors, often highlighted with gold. As in eastern Indian painting, volume is indicated by shading. The particular oval shape of the head with the hair descending in a widow's peak in front, distinct figural forms with attenuated waists, and an interest in patterned textiles are derived from the Buddhist art of Kashmir. Though made of paper, each folio continues the traditional palm leaf-manuscript format by having two holes for string bindings. Unlike many eastern Indian and Nepalese manuscripts, the illustrations in this manuscript relate directly to the associated text. The illuminations are also unusual in presenting personifications of esoteric concepts.
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Bibliography

  • Singer, Jane Casey. "Early Thankas: Eleventh - Thirteenth Centuries." Marg 48, no. 1 (1996): 16-31.

  • Pal, Pratapaditya.  The Art of Tibet.  New York:  The Asia Society, Inc., 1969.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya, ed.  Aspects of Indian Art: Papers Presented in a Symposium at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  Leiden, The Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1972.
  • Singer, Jane Casey. "Early Thankas: Eleventh - Thirteenth Centuries." Marg 48, no. 1 (1996): 16-31.

  • Pal, Pratapaditya.  The Art of Tibet.  New York:  The Asia Society, Inc., 1969.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya, ed.  Aspects of Indian Art: Papers Presented in a Symposium at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  Leiden, The Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1972.
  • Beguin, Gilles. Dieux et Demons de l'Himalaya: Art du Bouddhisme Lamaique.  Paris: Grand Palais, 1977.
  • Anderson, D.  The Aesthetics of Calligraphy.  Los Angeles: University of Southern California, 1977.
  • Larson, Gerald et al.  In Her Image:  The Great Goddess in Indian Asia and the Madonna in Christian Culture.  Santa Barbara:  UCSB Art Museum, University of California, 1980.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya.  Art of Tibet.  Los Angeles; Berkeley, CA:  Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1983.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya; Dehejia, Vidya; Slusser, Mary Shepherd; Fisher, Robert E.; Brown, Robert L. Arts of Asia 15 (6): 68-125 (November- December 1985).
  • Pal, Pratapaditya. "Art and Ritual in Buddhism." Asian Art vol. II, no. 3 (Summer 1989):  33-55.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya. Art of Tibet. Expanded edition. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1990.
  • McArthur, Meher.  Reading Buddhist Art: An Illustrated Guide to Buddhist Signs and Symbols.  London:  Thames & Hudson, 2002.
  • Huntington, John C. and Dina Bangdel.  The Circle of Bliss:  Buddhist Meditational Art.  Columbus:  The Columbus Museum of Art; Chicago:  Serindia Publications, 2003.
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