Nepalese / Four Leaves from a Gandavyuha Manuscript. Leaf A: Sudhana. Leaf B: Sudhana Visits a Teacher. Leaf C: Sudhana Visits a Teacher. Leaf D: Sudhana / Thakuri period, late 11th-early 12th century

Nepalese
Four Leaves from a Gandavyuha Manuscript. Leaf A: Sudhana. Leaf B: Sudhana Visits a Teacher. Leaf C: Sudhana Visits a Teacher. Leaf D: Sudhana
Thakuri period, late 11th-early 12th century
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Creator Nationality: Asian; Indian Sub-Continent; Nepalese
Creator Dates/Places: Nepalese
Creator Active Place: Nepal
Creator Name-CRT: Nepalese
Title: Four Leaves from a Gandavyuha Manuscript. Leaf A: Sudhana. Leaf B: Sudhana Visits a Teacher. Leaf C: Sudhana Visits a Teacher. Leaf D: Sudhana
View: Full View
Creation Start Date: 1067
Creation End Date: 1133
Creation Date: Thakuri period, late 11th-early 12th century
Creation Place: Nepal
Object Type: Drawings and Watercolors
Materials and Techniques: Ink and opaque watercolor on palm leaf
Dimensions: Each 2 x 21 1/2 in. (5.1 x 54.6 cm)
AMICA Contributor: Asia Society
Owner Location: New York, New York, USA
ID Number: 1979.054.1-4
Credit Line: Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection
Rights: http://www.asiasociety.org
Context: Illustrated Buddhist manuscripts were produced in Nepal by at least the early 11th century, and the round faces and long, thin physiques of the figures illustrating four leaves from a manuscript of the Gandavyuha indicate that this is a Nepali rather than an Indian work. Unlike the figures in Indian manuscripts, which evoke movement through their stylized or exaggerated poses, the Nepali figures twist and turn within the picture plane. In addition, the Nepali palette favors red and blue while thatused in Indian paintings features red and yellow. The sketchy treatment of the figures in these leaves and the style of calligraphy of the text help to date the manuscript to the late 11th or early 12th century.

The Gandavyuha is part of an influential text known as the Avatamsaka Sutra (Flower-Ornament Sutra). The Gandavyuha narrates the pilgrimage of a young boy named Sudhana as he travels from teacher to teacher in search of enlightenment. Sudhana's journey illustrates hisgrowing mastery of Buddhist wisdom,and it also loosely parallels the life of Shakyamuni. In these four leaves, Sudhana is shown either walking under trees or seated before the various initiates whom he visits. On leaf B, the small red tower located between the small figure of Sudhana and the larger image of the bodhisattva he visits suggests the painting may represent Sudhana's visit to Maitreya, during which the bodhisattva presents the young pilgrim with a vision of his paradisiacal tower. The lack ofany identifying characteristics, on the other hand, makes it impossible to determine which teacher Sudhana is visiting in the scene on leaf C.

Related Document Description: Asia Society. Handbook . New York: Asia Society, [1981], p. 27.
Related Document Description: Fisher, Robert E. Buddhist Art and Architecture. London: Thames and Hudson, 1993, pp. 74, 76-77.
Related Document Description: Huntington, Susan L., and John C. Huntington. Leaves from the Bodhi Tree: The Art of Pala India (8th-12th Centuries) and Its International Legacy. Dayton and Seattle: Dayton Art Institute and University of Washington Press, 1990, pp. 261-63.
Related Document Description: Pal, Pratapaditya, and Julia Meech-Pekarik. Buddhist Book Illuminations. New York: Ravi Kumar, 1988, pp. 105, 117-19.
Related Document Description: Treasures of Asian Art: Selections from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, The Asia Society, New York. Hong Kong and Singapore: Hong Kong Museum of Art and National Museum Singapore, 1993, pp. 70, 71.
Related Document Description: Treasures of Asian Art: Selections from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, The Asia Society, New York. Tokyo: Idemitsu Museum of Arts, 1992, pp. 53, 124-25.
AMICA ID: ASIA.1979.054.1-4
AMICA Library Year: 1999
Media Metadata Rights: Copyright, Asia Society

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