AN IMPERIAL PAINTED ALBUM OF THE DAHARANI SUTRA
Anonymous, 19th century
The fourth volume of the sutra, elaborately embroidered silk covers with illuminated title pages showing five-clawed dragons and twenty meticulously executed paintings on silk mounted on Imperial yellow silk, and seven pages of calligraphy in gold on blue paper. 32cm (12 1/2in) wide x 43cm (17in) long; each painting 27cm (10 1/2in) wide x 36cm (14in)
Footnotes:
十九世紀 御製寫繪《大悲心陀羅尼經》册

Provenance: Edward Newinson, Cobham, Surrey
Presented by the above to Mrs Joan Tovey, 30 September 1954

來源： Edward Newinson, 科巴姆，薩里
由前者贈予Joan Tovey夫人，1954年9月30日

The exceptional quality of the calligraphy and painting, the use of yellow silk borders, and the depiction of five-clawed dragons on the illustrated title page all suggest that the present lot originated from one of the Imperial palaces or libraries of the Qing dynasty. During the Qing dynasty, the Manchu emperors exhibited a profound reverence for Buddhism. Beginning with the reign of Emperor Kangxi, it became customary for Qing emperors to personally transcribe Buddhist sutras on special occasions, such as the first and fifteenth day of each lunar month, as well as the birthdays of the Empress Dowager and the Emperors. Alternatively, the emperors might have commissioned Imperial court officials to undertake this task on their behalf. Among the sutras transcribed at the Qing court, those deemed most valuable, such as the present lot, are accompanied by illustrations. For more discussion on sutra transcription at the Qing court, see Zhongguo gongting shanben 中國宮廷善本, Beijing, 2003, p.172 and p.189.

The main text of the album written in guange ti (館閣體), a script used for Imperial examination and documents, is a section from The Great Compassionate Heart Dharani Sutra (大悲心陀羅尼經) which is a Mahayana sutra from India, first translated into Chinese during the Tang dynasty. It is believed that each word or phrase of this sutra carries vast meaning. Transcribing and reciting them could help people to eliminate all obstacles, bring immense benefits, and embark on the path of enlightenment.

The famous Great Compassion Mantra (大悲咒) exactly originates from this sutra and has a tradition of being visualised. The Great Compassion Mantra consists of eighty-four sentences. In the album of the present lot, each of the paintings which follow the main text provides a visual image of a sentence from The Great Compassion Mantra, with a sentence of The Great Compassion Mantra transcribed in the right-hand part of each painting and a corresponding description to the left-hand corner. For example, the two sentences of 'suo luo suo luo' (娑囉娑囉) meaning 'the Five Turbidities' (五濁世界) and 'su xu su xu' (蘇噓蘇噓) meaning 'the Sound of the Falling of the Buddhas' Leaves' (諸佛樹葉落聲) have been presented as an image in the present album. Apart from these two, each of the remaining paintings represents either a Bodhisattva or a Buddha, including the King of the Eight Classes of Demons (八部鬼神王) and the Precious Pennant Bodhisattva (寶幢菩薩) etc. They embody the compassionate actions of saving and protecting beings in the world. In accordance with traditional norms of sutra transcription, the image of Skanda (韋陀), revered as the guardian and protector of the Buddhist teachings, is found in the end of this sutra album.

Compare with a related Imperial album from The Great Compassion Mantra by Zou Yigui (1686-1772), in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Qinggong shanben xiejing 清宮善本寫經, Beijing, 2009, pp.116-117.

Compare with a related album of Buddhist sutras, ink and colour on paper, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 30 November 2017, lot 570.

Book cover with a few album pages detached; the paintings in very good overall condition; very minor rubbing of the colours; the silk with some dirt penetrating it.