Seal with mantra in Vartu script

China

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 219

Written in Vartu script, the six characters engraved on the bottom of this seal read "aa-ra-pa-tza-na-dhi," which is a mantra of Manjusri, the bodhisattva of wisdom. First developed in India, Vartu script was adapted from cursive Sanskrit by Tibetan monks for ritual use from the eleventh century onward.

Seal with mantra in Vartu script, Ivory, turquoise, and iron damascened with gold, China

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Seal with mantra in Vartu script, Ivory, turquoise, and iron damascened with gold, China
Seal with mantra in Vartu script, Ivory, turquoise, and iron damascened with gold, China
Seal with mantra in Vartu script, Ivory, turquoise, and iron damascened with gold, China
Seal with mantra in Vartu script, Ivory, turquoise, and iron damascened with gold, China
Seal with mantra in Vartu script, Ivory, turquoise, and iron damascened with gold, China

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