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| With the heightened interest in "the secret language" of symbols-especially in the iconography of the Orient, which is admired and studied both for its artistic beauty and its multi-levels of meaning-we are priveleged to present two of the most important sourceworks of Lamaistic esotericism. Each Pantheon, or collection of icons, is presented in photo-reproductions from the priceless originals, with descriptive indexes in Chinese, Tibetan, and Sanskrit. Each is a treasure-house of Buddhist imagery and allegory, rich in symbolic suggestiveness, profoundly spiritual. The Pao-Hsiang Lou Pantheon, reproduced here for the first time in the Western world, consists of 766 bronze sculptures on pedestals from the Forbidden City in Peiping, most of them inscribed with the names of divinities or high personages. In the photo-illustrations of these remarkable stauettes one encounters an incredible number of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, female divines and other figures, all in characteristic postures of repose or sinuous rhythm. The second Pantheon representd in this volume is the Chu Fo P'u-sa Sheng Hsiang Tsan, after the unique manuscript of the same name. This contains 360 woodblock illustrations accompanied by 360 eulogies in Chinese. The complete set is reproduced here in all its fantastic diversity, preserving a religious, mythological, and artistic tradition which may soon be extinct. Professor Clark's Introduction describes the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the discovery of these two great repositories of Oriental iconography. This is followed by a Bibliography and the three all-important Indexes, each of which has been authoritatively transliterated. Whether your area of specialization is the religions of Asia, the psychological aspects of symbolism as expressed in art and ornamentation, or research in eros and civilization-you are certain to be enthralled by the pictures and other materials incorporated in this book. |
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