Product Description

Antique Burmese Kamawasa 2

Material: Cotton or chintz cloth, lacquer, gold leaf, wood
Style: Burma
Size:  Length 59 cm, Width 14 cm, Depth 4.5 cm
Order Number: MHSTABK2

There are 16 pages.

Kamawasa are the most beautiful of all Burmese sacred manuscripts, where no expense was spared. They contain extracts from the Pali Vinaya (rules for monks concerning their conduct, ordination and investiture). They were usually commissioned by parents whose son was entering the monkhood and it gave them merit.

There are approximately 16 unbound pages made from 4 folded layers of cotton or chintz cloth, thickly coated with lacquer, hardened to create a shiny, smooth, firm, pliant surface. Discarded waist cloths of kings and highly esteemed monks’ robes were often used.

About 6 lines of text is written on both sides in a square attractive script called magyi-zi (tamarind seed). Spaces and margins are decorated with foliage in gold leaf. The first and last pages have wider margins and are filled with drawings of lively celestial creatures.

The lacquered wooden covers enclosing the book are also covered with illustrations of celestial beings.

Many are split up and the pages sold piecemeal, but this is a complete book.

Early 20th century.

There is a similar one in Burmese Crafts Past and Present, Sylvia Fraser-Lu, Oxford University Press, 1994, Plate 60 and page 286.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).