Untitled

Unknown

late 11th century · Distemper on wood · Asian Art

This pair of wooden covers protected the palm-leaf folios of a Buddhist sacred text. One cover has the nine Buddhist goddesses, each holding a staff surmounted by the wish-fulfilling jewel (cintamani), while the other cover has the five transcendental Buddhas flanked by four bodhisattvas. Painted on the interior, the iconography offers a protective field to the holy text within, in this case likely the Perfection of Wisdom text, the Ashtasathasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 11th century

Medium

Distemper on wood

Culture

Nepal (Kathmandu Valley)

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Fletcher and Rogers Funds, 1976