San Diego Museum of Art - Seated Bodhisattva

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Seated Bodhisattva

Creation date: 12th century

Creation place: Nepal

Other Information

Type: Manuscript Painting

Medium and Support: Opaque watercolor and ink on palm leaf

Credit Line: Edwin Binney 3rd Collection

Accession Number: 1990.152

State/Province: Andhra Pradesh

Dimensions: 2 in. x 2 15/32 in. (5.1 cm x 6.3 cm)

Provenance

Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, New York ( - May 25, 1961)

Edwin Binney 3rd, San Diego, California (May 25, 1961 - August 27, 1990)

San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, California (August 27, 1990 - )

Label Copy

Temple, Palace, Mosque: 2010

Before the introduction of paper to India and Nepal, religious books were written on palm leaves and kept in the monastery libraries or temple shrines as sacred objects. These four pages are from one of the finest surviving among the early illustrated manuscripts of Nepal. The paintings have a lyrical quality that along with the subtle shading, fluid contour lines, and imaginative landscape elements, conveys the uniquely Nepali style rooted in classical Indian painting traditions of the 5th century.

The text describes the pilgrimage of the young merchant Sudhana who travels from one spiritual teacher to another until he learns the ways of the bodhisattvas. Although the text is common in China, these pages are from the only surviving manuscript of the Gandavyuha in South Asia.

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September 2005
Devotional Arts of Nepal
A paragon among early painted manuscripts of Nepal, the manuscript from which these four pages come describes the pilgrimage of the young merchant Sudhana who travels from one spiritual teacher to another until he learns the ways of the bodhisattvas. (Bodhisattvas are one stage away from fully enlightened Buddhas, and they vow to remain in the world to help other beings become Buddhas first). Although the text is common in China, these pages are from the only surviving manuscript of the Gandavyuha in South Asia.
The paintings have a lyrical quality which, along with the subtle shading and imaginative landscape elements, conveys the uniquely Nepali style rooted in classical Indian painting traditions of the 5th century.

Sonya Quintanilla (2014) Quebec Label
Seated Bodhisattva
Sudhana traveling through a rocky landscape with two bulls
Sudhana standing beside a tree
Sudhana kneeling before a bodhisattva
Folios from a Gandavyuha-sutra
Nepal, 12th century
Opaque watercolor and ink on palm leaf
Edwin Binney 3rd Collection, 1990.152, .154, .153, .155
Before the introduction of paper to India and Nepal, religious books were written on palm leaves and kept in the monastery libraries or temple shrines as sacred objects. These four pages are from one of the finest surviving among the early illustrated manuscripts of Nepal. The paintings have a lyrical quality that along with the subtle shading, fluid contour lines, and imaginative landscape elements, conveys the uniquely Nepali style rooted in classical Indian painting traditions of the 5th century. The text describes the pilgrimage of the young merchant Sudhana who travels from one spiritual teacher to another until he learns the ways of the bodhisattvas. Although the text is common in China, these pages are from the only surviving manuscript of the Gandavyuha in South Asia.
Last Updated: 9/5/2017

Exhibition

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

Temple, Palace, Mosque: Southern Asian & Persian Art , 1/2/2010 - 2/1/2011

Temple Palace and Mosque Rotations San Diego Museum of Art , 8/16/2010 - 00/00/00

Into India: South Asian Paintings from The San Diego Museum of Art San Diego Museum of Art , 2/28/2012 - 5/27/2012

Bibliography

This object has the following bibliographic references:

Pratapaditya Pal. The Arts of Nepal: Part II, Painting E. J. Brill. Leiden, The Netherlands, 1978
Page Number: 47

Pratapaditya Pal. Art of Nepal, Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles, California, 1985
Page Number: 196-197

Dr. Sonya Quintanilla and Patrick Coleman. Visiones de la India Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. Madrid, 2012
Page Number: 34, 256, Figure Number: cat. 3, p. 35, 36

Dr. Sonya Quintanilla and Patrick Coleman. Visiones de la India (Mexico) Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia. Mexico , 2013
Page Number: 30, Figure Number: cat. 3, p. 31, 32

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