A Tibetan woodblock (290 x 180 mm.), carved on one side.
[Tibet: 19th-20th centuries].
Woodblocks are invaluable historical artifacts in East Asian history, serving as key instruments in the preservation and dissemination of knowledge. The printing process involves brushing ink onto the carved surface, pressing a sheet of paper onto it, and rubbing it with a printing pad or brush to transfer the inked negative impression. While best known for printing side-stitched codices, woodblocks were also historically used for various kinds of single-sheet ephemera that were popular not only as reading material but for their iconic or religious significance.
This unusual Tibetan woodblock, engraved on one side, depicts two Buddhist deities whose bodies are wheels containing the seed syllables “hūṃ” and “phaṭ.” Beneath them are other mantric syllables, including the syllables “jaḥ jaḥ jaḥ” surrounded by four fish figures. The woodblock was likely used for printing complex illustrated “mantra slips,” one of the oldest kinds of printed material in Tibet that has a number of ritual applications: for the consecration of statues, to be burned as offerings, to be placed within prayer wheels or protective amulets, and so on. Early examples of Tibetan mantra slips have been found in the Turfan Oasis, dating to the 11-12th centuries if not earlier (see Sam van Schaik, “The Uses of Early Tibetan Printing: Evidence from the Turfan Oasis”).
Fine condition.
Price: $1,000.00
Item ID: 11607
