Manuscript cover for a Kanjur (Tibetan Canon of Buddhist Texts)

Object Details

• Label

  The gold that adorns the cover of this sacred Buddhist text reflects the purity and perfection of the teachings of the Buddha (dharma). Like most Tibetan covers, it is shaped to resemble the long, narrow format of ancient texts from India, where the Buddha lived and taught in the fifth century B.C.E. The cover depicts the enthroned Buddha surrounded by the teachers, lamas, and perfected beings of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.

• Provenance

  From 1963 to 2003

  Mrs. Ruth C. Galaid, Fairfax, VA, purchased from an unnamed Tibetan in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 1963 [1]

  From 2004

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, given by Mrs. Ruth C. Galaid in 2004

  Notes:

  [1] Mrs. Galaid purchased the cover in Nepal from a Tibetan in Kathmandu in 1963 when she was working with the Ford Foundation in India (according to Provenance Remark 1, Debra Diamond, August 2004, in the object record).

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas (March 25, 2023 - ongoing)

  Gold: The Asian Touch (September 10, 2005 to February 20, 2006)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Mrs. Ruth C. Galaid

• Origin

  Tibet

• Credit Line

  Gift of Ruth C. Galaid

• Type

  Manuscript

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1720s, 1500s

• Name

  buddha, Galaid, Ruth C.

• Place

  Tibet

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Marpa, Milarepa, Naropa, Kanjur, Vajradhara

• Culture

  Buddhists, Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Manuscripts