Pair of Manuscript Covers

Pair of painted wooden manuscript covers. The exterior of one cover bears the image of Ganesa as the central figure; with one foot on his vehicle, the rat, Ganesa dances to the drumming of his father, Siva, supported by the emblematic bull, and Bhairva, supported on a cadaver. His mother, Parvati, standing on her lion vehicle, appears to be offering something to the dancer. The interior of this cover shows a king of Patan seated on a throne supported by lions and what seems to be a tiny Garuda, reference to Nepalese royalty as Vishnu incarnate. Opposite the king a brahman priest appears to be expounding from a manuscript, such as these covers would have protected. Between them is Rato Macchendranath (Matsyendranatha), a syncretic diety known to Buddhist Newars as Bunga-dyah and considered to be a particular manifestation of Avolokitesvara. The god is depicted standing on a bull, goose/swan, and sunbird, vehicles of three paramount Hindu gods, Siva, Brahma, and Vishnu. The obverse of the bottom cover depicts the goddess Sarasvati supported by two vehicles, a goose and makara; she is flanked by lotus-borne goddesses. The reverse of this cover depicts a brahman priest holding a manuscript in one hand and making offerings to a pair of royally decorated elephants, mother and baby. From 1967 to 1995 Private collector, purchased in Patan, Nepal, in 1967 [1] From 1995 Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, given by a private collector in 1995 Notes: [1] According to the donor, these covers were purchased on October 8, 1967 in Patan, former capital of the Patan Kingdom, Nepal, and once protected a now unidentifiable but surely brahmanical text. They entered the United States in early 1970 (according to Provenance Remark 1, Vidya Dehejia, March 16, 1995, in the object record). National Museum of Asian Art Collection Facing East: Portraits from Asia (July 1 to September 4, 2006) Anonymous