A pair of Imperial polychrome wood sutra covers from the Kangxi Kangyur, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period, completed in 1669
Auction Closed
September 18, 04:57 PM GMT
Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
A pair of Imperial polychrome wood sutra covers from the Kangxi Kangyur
Qing dynasty, Kangxi period, completed in 1669
清康熙 御製木刻彩繪《龍藏經》護經板一對 成於1669年
The front cover is inscribed in Tibetan Uchen script, flanked by images of Shakyamuni Buddha and Prajnaparamita:
Namo Buddhaya! Namo Dharmaya! Namo Sanghaya! ('To the Three Jewels I bow!') (2)
The reverse is painted with three of the all-powerful ten syllables of the Kalachakra mantra.
The second cover is painted with Virudhaka, Dhritarastra, Brahma, Vaishravana and Virupaksha, the reverse with three visvavajra symbols.
上護經板寫有頭體藏文，左右各彩繪釋迦牟尼佛及波若佛母，背面寫時輪金剛十字咒中三字。
下護經板彩繪增長天王、持國天王、梵天、多聞天王及廣目天王，背面為十字金剛杵三組。
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 13914.
HAR編號13914
Height 13 in., 32.9 cm; Width 34¼ in., 87 cm
Private Collection, Heidelberg, Germany.
It is extremely rare to find any sets of sutra covers from the Kangxi Kangyur, and this may be the only ones ever to have been offered at auction. Other sets were exhibited at the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Om-mani-padme-hum. Tibetan Buddhist Art in the National Palace Museum, 2015, cat. no. 1-4, and V-8-30. The preface to the Kangyur was also exhibited, cat. no. 1-2, documenting how it was completed in the 8th year of the Kangxi reign, 1669 and explaining that the Grand Empress Dowager was a devoted follower of Buddhism, and that, after seeing a copy of the Kangyur from a previous dynasty in 108 cases, requested that the classic be re-transcribed in the hope of promoting the teachings of compassion and altruism so that the empire would prosper and her people live in peace.
《龍藏經》護經板殊罕難求，此兩件一組或為拍賣市場所見唯一例。有《龍藏經》護經板曾展於台北故宮博物院，《唵嘛呢叭咪吽－院藏藏傳佛教文物特展》，2015年，編號1-4及V-8-30；同場亦展出《龍藏經》卷首，編號1-2，詳述康熙八年（1669年）《龍藏經》寫成之機緣始末，提到孝莊太皇太后篤奉佛教，曾閱覽前朝甘珠爾一部，全經一百零八函，故下詔抄寫經典，宣揚佛法慈悲，以期帝國昌盛、黎民安生。