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|  | | Cover of a holy book
Book cover (legshing), wood, gilded, turquois; L: 82 cm., B: 35 cm., H: 4,5 cm.; loan from the National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside, Liverpool
Religious texts are written on single, loose sheets. Wooden book covers keep together the loose heaps of leaves at the top and on the bottom. At the centre of the cover three illustrations have been carved out in the shape of a relief: on the left Buddha Shakyamuni, in the centre the goddess Prajnaparamita*, die embodiment of transcendental wisdom and the personified illustration of the Buddhist teaching , and on the right the bodhisattva* Maitreya*, the Buddha of the coming age. All three of them are seated at a throne, which is framed by mythological animals standing on top of each other. The mythological bird Garuda forms the edge. The »Four Guardians of the World « (gyelchen deshi) are positioned in the four outermost corners. | | The Prajnaparamita Sutra |
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