9008 Old HIndu Bhagavat Purana Manuscript with Illuminated Paintings

A book written in Sanskrit containing five pages with illuminated paintings.

All the miniatures, apart from one, depict Vishnu in various activities. One of the illustrations, for example portrays Vishnu Narayana (sleeping), the myth of the dream of creation when Vishnu, lying on a seven-headed serpent dreams a new era and Brahma (above) and Laksmi (at his feet) first appear.

The book could therefore be a Bhaagavata Purana, one of the sacred Hindu texts centralised around the figure of Vishnu and his avatars.

Fine paper that has a  glaze .

Shlokas have been written in black ink and where emphasis is needed, in red ink.

Pages are loose as the binding has weakened through use. Edge wear. Damage on some pages. Water stains present on some.

13 x 8.5 cm

Stacks as large as this are not available very often.

Age unknown but it is clear that this text has been used for the purpose of its creation for a long time.

Acquired from an Italian collection several years ago

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This item has spent a lifetime being used for the purpose of its creation with the original artist/user. Signs of this life lived heartily may be present on the piece in the form of stains, thread loss, loose threads, holes, tears, color run and other imperfections. Therefore the condition must be assumed to be “not” perfect. More photos of such imperfections will be provided on request.

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