The Bhadrakalpika Sutra, c. 1500, 4 5/8 x 26 1/16 x 8 3/4 in. (11.75 x 66.2 x 22.23 cm) (overall, closed), Colors, gold and silver on blue-black paper, Tibet, 15th-16th century, This sacred text, or sutra (literally translated as 'thread'), consists of 297 rectangular, double-sided indigo-dyed pages, embellished with silver and gold script, and interspersed with over 600 miniature paintings. Such elaborate manuscripts were more worshipped as the embodiment of wisdom than actually read. It would have been wrapped in a silk cloth, protected by wooden book covers, and likely stored in the library, along with other offerings, at the Tsurpu Monastery in Tibet.
The Bhadrakalpika Sutra, c. 1500, 4 5/8 x 26 1/16 x 8 3/4 in. (11.75 x 66.2 x 22.23 cm) (overall, closed), Colors, gold and silver on blue-black paper, Tibet, 15th-16th century, This sacred text, or sutra (literally translated as 'thread'), consists of 297 rectangular, double-sided indigo-dyed pages, embellished with silver and gold script, and interspersed with over 600 miniature paintings. Such elaborate manuscripts were more worshipped as the embodiment of wisdom than actually read. It would have been wrapped in a silk cloth, protected by wooden book covers, and likely stored in the library, along with other offerings, at the Tsurpu Monastery in Tibet.