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DIMENSIONS: cm 58 X 20 X 14 (inches 23" x 8" x 5.5") weight: 4.8 Kg

Description: Antique impressive Tibetan prayer book with hard wood carved covers, around 300 thick paper sheets (probably rice paper), written in Sanscrit language on both sides. The title is finely carved in bas-relief on the upper cover. It may be the "Oṃ Maṇi Padme Hūṃ" one of the most popular mantra of the Mahayana Buddhism. It was printed with the ancient technic of woodblock printing, probably in Dêrgê Barkang, the historical printing house associated to the Goinqên Monastery, in Tibet.

The book is stunning also for size, weight and amount of pages (300 ca).

Period: 1900 ca.

References:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derge_Parkhang

• https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/world/asia/tibet-derge-parkhang-buddhist-texts-ancient-printing-press.html

Condition: Signs of wear and tear, according to age and use. Paper is yellowish, some pages have very old marginal tears, from frequent turning of the pages but sheets are all intact. Wooden covers have a thick patina, some bug holes and other minor signs but the wood is very hard and solid. In conclusion the artifact is very stable and well preserved for its age.

900,00 Usd / 800 euro