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Guardians of the Sacred Word

Upper and lower covers from an unidentified manuscript with the letter ka, the first letter of the Tibetan alphabet, painted in gold on red
carved and painted wood , Tibet , circa 1200 - 1300 , 24.5x72 cm

Neither the upper nor lower of these matched covers offer clues to the subject of the text they protected; this is a trend that has been observed in many of the preceding and following, single, examples. The upper cover of this set is distinguished from the lower by the addition of a variant of the ashtamangala (eight auspicious symbols), and by a makara painted on each of the outer borders.

text and images © Rossi & Rossi

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