Detail: close-up view
The fine quality of these early book covers is evident in the beautifully delineated figures that populate their surfaces. Richly colored, the top panel depicts a prominent central Shivalinga atop a blossoming lotus flower, flanked by Brahma and Vishnu. On either side, four male deities face inward, each bestowing floral offerings upon a smaller Shivalinga placed in front of him. Wearing diaphanous dhotis, each of which is made from a uniquely patterned textile, translucent scarves and delicate jewelry, the divinities gaze downward in reverence. Although the bottom panel is more worn than the top, a central image of Shiva and Parvati seated on a throne above a charming Nandi and a pair of worshippers is discernible. On either side of the couple, four enthroned deities face inward, each gazing down at his own following of worshippers who kneel at his feet. In both, the red background against which the divinities sit is bordered at top by a series of decorative blue curtains and is lit by a variety of chandeliers and lamps, suggestive of an interior scene.
Given their subject-matter, these book covers at one time would have protected an unknown palm leaf text sacred to the Shaiva religion. Although Buddhist manuscript covers were more prevalent than Hindu in Nepal, examples such as the present were also painted there, often by the same artists. Just as painting styles evolved, so did the style of manuscript cover illustrations. Dating from the eleventh century, the period of the first Nepali manuscript covers, the present example exhibits incredibly fine details and simple yet elegant figural representations. These same features are evident in a Hindu book cover in the collection of the University Library in Cambridge that dates from the eleventh century,[1] as well as in another twelfth century set in the Pritzker Collection.[2]
[1] See Pal (1978), fig. 16.
[2] See Pal (2003), no. 24.
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