Page 92 - Bonhams IMages of Devotion, Hong Kong Nov 30 2022

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A CARVED WOODBLOCK FOR PRINTING THE The Mongolian Kanjur is a canonical text of teachings attributed to
MONGOLIAN KANJUR Buddha Shakyamuni. This exquisitely carved woodblock is likely
QING, CIRCA 1720 from an imperial set commissioned by the Kangxi Emperor (r.1661-
With identifying Mongolian and Manchu inscriptions flanking each deity, 1722), completed around 1720. The entire set consists of 40,952
and a Chinese inscription on the left, reading, ‘秘密經第二十三卷下一 woodblocks, nearly half of which are preserved in the Palace Museum,
(mimijing di ershisan juan xiayi)’, translated, ‘tantra volume 23, second Beijing. Six others appeared in the Paris art market in 2011 (Sotheby’s,
part, no.1.’ Paris, 15 December 2011, lot 104), one of which, dedicated to
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 4721 ‘tantra volume 3’, compares closely with the current lot in style and
17 x 59 cm (7 3/4 x 23 1/4 in.) composition.

HKD150,000 - 250,000 The present work features reverse images of five tantric deities,
consisting of the semi-wrathful Shiva holding a trident and a bowl of
清 約1720年 蒙文《甘珠爾》雕版印經板 wish-fulling gems (cintamani), a two-armed Mahakala brandishing a
sword, a second Mahakala holding a visvavajra and a ghanta, and
dual images of Palden Lhamo riding her mule through a sea of blood.
Each deity is set against a busy background of flames or clouds,
framed within a stylized torana. The complex arrangement is achieved
with thin and fluid lines, demonstrating the carver’s virtuosity fit for the
imperial patron.

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