A RARE PROTECTIVE CLOTH (TOLOBEI) WITH DHARANI SUTRA FOR A HIGH-RANKING DECEASED PERSON

Estimated Value:

900 € - 1.500 €

Schätzpreis:

33.000 €

Description:

China, Qing dynasty, 19th ct.
L. 210 cm, Webbreite 129cm
Red silk twill with brownish silk and metal pattern threads. Woven into the cloth (tolobei) are excerpts of the Dharani Sutra in Chinese, Tibetan and Sanskrit. Such a cloth is placed over a deceased persons of imperial rank and later used to over the coffin to prevent spirits from stealing the soul. The motifs are always identical to guarantee the protective effect.
From the collection of Hermann Friedrich Ensinger (1872-1937) - Cf. similar cloth: Life in the Forbidden City, Hong Kong 1989, p. 262. W.B. Brix: Drachen aus goldenen Fäden, Deutsches Textilmuseum Krefeld, 2020, cat. No. 11, pp. 69-71.
Both selvedges preserved, partially stained

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