Gilgit: Illustrated Manuscript Covers - Amitabha Buddhas and Avalokitesvara Bodhisattvas

PAKISTAN, Gilgit-Baltistan, Gilgit

This pair of painted sutra covers was discovered in a pagoda in Gilgit in 1931, along with a number of manuscripts. The manuscripts are the oldest sutra transcriptions found on the Indian subcontinent, and these images are the oldest portable paintings found in the region.
The two covers are similar, with images of Amitabha Buddha sitting above Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, who looks down at a kneeling figure in the bottom left corner. Avalokitesvara wears a headdress and has a bare upper body. The right hand forms the varada (wish-granting) mudra, and the left hand is placed on the waist. Amitabha wears a red monastic robe covering both shoulders, forms the dhyana (meditation) mudra, and sits on a lotus throne. At the bottom, the smaller figure is obscured by damage, with only the silhouette, the hands, and part of the face visible.