Buddhist Book Illuminations – Pratapaditya Pal; Julia Meech-Pekarik

Buddhist Book Illuminations
Handwritten as well as handprinted, books have played a fundamental role in spreading the message of the Buddha from India to various countries of Asia from the early centuries of the Christian era. Known commonly as sutra, Buddhist scriptures were carefully transcribed on palm-leaf, birch-bark, wood, cloth, paper (the medium for printed books) and even silver and gold. Certainly, by the eighth century, but possibly earlier, the Buddhists also began embellishing sutras with illustrations, and, thereafter, until the early part of this century, an enormous amount of illuminated books were produced in most countries where Bud- dhism has prevailed.
Curiously, to date, no single volume has covered the history of Buddhist book illumination. Thus, for the first time, two eminent scholars of Buddhist art Pratapaditya Pal and Julia Meech-Pekarik have writ- ten a concise and highly readable account of the history of this little-known, but fascinating subject covering India, Nepal, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Indo- nesia, China, Japan, and Korea. Illuminated with 108 color and over 130 black-and-white illustrations, this book will serve as a splendid introduction to the subject and stimulate others to explore this rich source for the understanding of Buddhism and its art.
Buddhist Book Illuminations – Pratapaditya Pal; Julia Meech-Pekarik