The rich variety of languages, religious traditions and schools of
art of the Indian subcontinent are brought together in this
exceptional library of Indian manuscripts. Religious and
philosophical texts from Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Jain, Sikh and
Zoroastrian schools of thought are all represented in illustrated
manuscripts. This library shows how these various faiths borrowed,
interacted and influenced one another in the subcontinent. From
palm leaf manuscripts of the South to pothi format manuals from the
Himalayas in Nepal, to the sophisticated and highly illustrated
manuscripts of the Imperial Moghul court, this catalogue takes the
reader on a visual journey through great epics, charged romances
and colourful cautionary tales. Highlights include an important and
lavishly illustrated palm-leaf manuscript by 'The Emperor of
Poets', Upendra Bhanja (c. 1640-1740 ce), and a rare Bihar-I Danesh
(The Springtime of Knowledge) by Shaikh 'Inayatallah Kamboh of
Delhi, from late 17th/early 18th century - the finest known copy of
the manuscript. An exceptional album of 18th-century Indian
paintings from the Liechtenstein Princely Collections offers
insight into the fascination for Indian courtly life among the
nobility of Europe. A number of exceptional painted scrolls are
also presented here. Scroll painting has a long history in India.
Story tellers would travel from village to village giving
performances of well-known epics and regional stories often
accompanied by musicians and with the visual aid of a painted
scroll. One particularly vibrant scroll, over 15 metres in length,
of the Madel Puranamu, was probably commissioned by a wealthy
member of the dhobi caste to celebrate his community's origins and
favour with Shiva. Among the many intruiging maps and manuals - on
art, astrology, omens, divination and auspicious symbols - is an
18th-century Nepalese sorcer's manual, which contains instructions
for protective and exorcistic Shaiva rituals, mantras and
sacrificial blood-offerings. Its binding includes feathers and
traces of blood and skin, which by tradition are fragments of the
'five beasts' - buffalo, chicken, dog, goat and cow.
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