Shaiva manuscript covers Polychrome wood Nepal

The covers painted with scenes from the Exaltation of Shiva, with the upper cover depicting a Shivalinga at center against a backdrop of flames, the linga worshipped by Hindu deities including Brahma, Sarasvati, Vishnu and Parvati, Indra, Agni and planetary deities, with a bearded rishi to the far right, the lower cover with the holy family at center, with Shiva and Parvati embracing and accompanied by the reclining white Nandi bull, Kumara to their right, a fragmentary Ganesha to their left, with further deities, rishi and personages.

Losses to the painted surface overall but particularly at the edges from handling and around the binding holes. Top right corner of upper cover lost, as seen in the catalogue illustration. A rich patina and accretion to the outer painted surfaces, with some losses. Ritual application of puja powder to the outer surface of the upper cover showing the linga worship. The inner painted surfaces are now stabilised and conserved.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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These delightful works embody the spirit of Nepalese painting in the eleventh and early twelfth century, with vibrant use of color in an unbounded composition where the gods are imbued with charm and animation. Very few Shaivite manuscript covers have survived from this period, where the majority of the corpus is painted with Buddhist themes. However, a pair of twelfth century covers now in the Pritzker Collection are painted with similar scenes of the Exaltation of Shiva, see Pratapaditya Pal, Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure, Chicago, 2004, p. 49, cat. no. 24. For another Nepalese twelfth century cover depicting Shivalinga worship, see Pratapaditya Pal, Nepal: Where the Gods are Young, New York, 1975, p. 87, cat. no. 56. A number of Buddhist manuscripts of the period are dated, providing benchmarks for eleventh and twelfth century Nepalese painting, including a Prajnaparamita palm leaf manuscript in the Cambridge University Library, dated 1015, copiously illustrated with freely drawn scenes, see Pratapaditya Pal and Julia Meech-Pekarik, Buddhist Book Illustrations, Paris, 1988, p. 103, pl. 20. A pair of covers from a Buddhist manuscript dated 1054, now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, are illustrated with an open running narrative similar in composition to the present Shaiva covers, see ibid, p. 103, pl. 22. Another pair of Buddhist covers in the collection of the Cambridge University Library are painted in similarly unbounded style, and are regarded by J. P. Losty as being examples from the late eleventh century, see W. Zwalf, ed, Buddhism: Art and Faith, London, 1985, illus. p. 119, cat. no 158. The illustration style of twelfth century manuscript covers tends toward the hieratic with enclosed scenes, often with alternate color backgrounds, such as examples in the British Library, dated by Losty to 1100-1130 and 1150-1175 respectively, see ibid, illus, p. 119, cat. nos. 169, 172.