Period: 12th century
Materials: Gilt repoussé copper on wood
Dimensions: 67 × 17 cm
Description
This twelfth-century Nepalese manuscript cover is made of embossed and gilded copper over a wooden support. It belongs to the Newar tradition of the Kathmandu Valley, in which Buddhist manuscripts were preserved and venerated as sacred objects. The decorated covering protects the book and underscores its devotional function.
Prajñāpāramitā, the personification of the Perfection of Wisdom, appears at the centre. She is flanked by White Tara, associated with longevity, and Green Tara, associated with action and protection. The composition thus brings together wisdom and compassion.
The images on the cover participate in the veneration of the manuscript, connecting the sacred text with Buddhist devotional figures. Transcendent wisdom, protection and compassionate action are expressed through a unified programme. The elongated support organises the sequence of figures while retaining the object’s practical function: protecting the leaves and providing a covering appropriate to the book’s religious value.
The repoussé work gives relief to the figures and ornaments, while gilding emphasises the pattern of the surfaces. The cover records the relationship between figurative art and manuscript culture in medieval Nepal.
