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Lot 610

SEVENTEEN RITUAL CARDS WITH REPRESENTATIONS OF DEITIES FROM THE BARDO

Estimated Value:

2.000 € - 3.000 €

Schätzpreis:

Description:

Outer Mongolia, mid 19th c.
ca. 10 x 8 cm
These rare and artistically particularly expressive depictions come from a set of approx. 100 ritual cards with images from the ritual according to the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which is presented to the deceased, following the text, in order to familiarize him or her with the apparitions in the Bardo. The cards are from a set that belongs together, but the drawings have different authors. Depicted are deities in union with their respective wisdom partners, and wrathful single figures. Their faces are mostly fearsome, and their wildly ruffled hair is held together by diadems. They carry their specific weapons and attributes in their hands. All the deities are wrapped in their fire energy and stand on lotus bases with leaves pointing downwards. In some cases they stand with their moving legs on white moon discs and on orange sun discs. The iconography of the individual depictions requires more detailed analysis, as they often deviate from the usual depictions and can possibly be deduced from the inscription on the reverse.
From a South German private collection, acquired prior to 2007 - Partly minor traces of age and only few with small damages at the margins