Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Bodhisattva Mahapratisara with the Text of “Da Sui qiu tuoluoni”
Engraved by Wang Wenzhao Chinese
Not on view
This ritual print shows a dharani, or mystic formula, written in Sanskrit around the central figure of the Bodhisattva Mahapratisara. His eight arms hold different attributes reflecting his protective powers. The design is reminiscent of a mandala, a symbolic representation of the universe. The text relates the benefits of making copies of it so as to motivate multiple printings.
The lotus medallions along the borders have been overprinted with Sanskrit “seed” characters seemingly carved on another block of the same size. This would make the work the earliest known example of multiblock printing. The donor, Li Zhishun, and the carver, Wang Wenzhao, are named near the top.
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