Decorating Tibetan Buddhist Manuscripts: A Preliminary Analysis of Ornamental Writing Frames

Abstract

Buddhist books have always played a central role in the lives of Tibetan people. This is evident by looking at the hundreds of thousands of manuscripts and xylographs produced by Tibetans, and then copied, multiplied, worshipped, spread, and transmitted uninterruptedly from religious masters to disciples over the centuries. Tibetan manuscripts and xylographs have started to be studied in their entirety only recently, and the interest for their visual aspect, material features, and social life has exponentially grown, becoming crucial to progress in different fields of study, to deeply understand the way in which Tibetan Buddhist people interact with such artefacts but also to preserve a disappearing cultural heritage. This essay will focus on a so far neglected element of Tibetan Buddhist manuscripts, namely, decorations of writing frames. Any element found in a Tibetan scripture is essential from care and conservation viewpoints since it contributes to preservation for as long as possible. This is fundamental to spread Buddha’s word and to accumulate spiritual merits to progress on the path towards Enlightenment. The numerous elements exhibited in manuscripts may help locating their provenance and/or narrowing down their dating. This will also lead to a better understanding of the spread of certain scriptures within the various Tibetan areas. This essay attempts to provide a preliminary analysis of decorated writing frames found in Buddhist manuscripts produced in different periods with the twofold aim of tracing their use and codicological aspects and investigating the type of texts that were mostly chosen to be decorated as such.

1. Introduction

Buddhist books have always played a key role in the lives of Tibetan people. Hundreds of thousands of manuscripts and xylographs have been produced by Tibetans over the centuries to be read, studied, worshipped, and used to bless and protect people, livestock, and fields. As receptacles of Buddha’s word, they have been copied and spread to accumulate spiritual merits to progress on the path towards Enlightenment and transmitted uninterruptedly from religious masters to disciples.

Until very recently, research had focused on the content of Tibetan Buddhist books, failing to investigate the material and visual aspect of manuscripts and xylographs. In the 1990s, the first studies on the codicological facets of Tibetan manuscripts started to surface (see, for example, De Rossi Filibeck 1994, 1996; Steinkellner 1994; Scherrer-Schaub 1999). In the following years, interest in their visual aspect, material features, and social life grew exponentially (see, for example, De Rossi Filibeck 2002, 2006; Scherrer-Schaub and Bonani 2002; Childs 2005; Heller 2009; Schaeffer 2009; Diemberger 2012a, 2012b; Diemberger et al. 2014, 2016; Helman-Ważny 2014; Almogi 2016; Dotson and Helman-Ważny 2016; Clemente and Lunardo 2017; Clemente 2021, 2024; Helman-Ważny and Ramble 2021, 2023; Luczanits and Viehbeck 2021; Kapstein 2024), and codicological issues have recently become crucial to progress in different fields of study. In particular, the codicological investigation of manuscripts and xylographs may help locating their provenance and dating, since some books do not contain a colophon and, even when they do, this may not include such information or this might be misleading, as Tibetans often copied the colophon of a manuscript or a print when they reproduced a certain text but did not always add any data on the creation of that particular artefact. The identification of the provenance and dating of books would also lead to a better comprehension of the spread of certain scriptures over time and within the various Tibetan areas. Furthermore, the way in which Tibetan people interact with books is an essential aspect of their culture that needs to be deeply understood and preserved as part of a disappearing cultural heritage.

Unfortunately, despite the importance of codicological studies for the advancement of the above-mentioned fields and despite the increasing amount of research on such subjects, Tibetan codicology still needs to be further developed. The recent manual on manuscripts and early printed books edited by Matthew Kapstein (2024) including essays of several authors specialised in different codicological facets has enormously contributed to the field by providing a wide overview of Tibetan books as well as essential information on the most important aspects of such artefacts, but further steps must be undertaken to reach a comprehensive understanding and to be able to identify the origin and dating of manuscripts and xylographs.

We are aware that any element found in a Tibetan scripture is essential from care and conservation viewpoints, contributing to preserving it as long as possible (see Martin 2023); at the same time, any element may also help narrowing down provenance and dating. However, a complete study of the numerous elements exhibited in manuscripts and xylographs has never been carried out, and several features among these have so far been neglected.

Bearing this in mind, this article attempts to provide a preliminary analysis of one of the aforementioned neglected elements exhibited in Tibetan books, namely, decorated writing frames found in Buddhist manuscripts in pothī format (dpe cha) produced in different periods, with the twofold aim of tracing their use and codicological aspects and investigating the type of texts that were mostly chosen to be embellished as such. As this is the first essay on this matter, it does not pretend to be comprehensive; it only aims at introducing this subject and drawing attention to this type of writing frame, showing that it may be worthy of further study.

This research started with the examination of all manuscripts preserved in the Tucci Tibetan Collection, later expanded to xylographs included in the same repository, and then to some artefacts kept in different collections (the British Library, the Bodleian Library, the National Archives of Kathmandu, and a private collection) as well as to manuscripts and prints made available online in digital formats. Whereas the investigation of the Tucci Tibetan Collection was systematic, the other collections have so far been studied partially and randomly for time constraints. More systematic research on items preserved in European collections has been planned and will be carried out in the following months.

2. Decorated Writing Frames in Tibetan Buddhist Manuscripts: A Tentative Chronological Overview

Tibetan manuscripts exhibit different codicological features according to period, area of provenance, literary genre, format, workshop, religious school, etc. This essay focuses on one of these features, namely, decorated writing frames found in the first leaves of Buddhist manuscripts in pothī format. Such frames may also be exhibited in Bon po manuscripts of the same format; therefore, mentions of samples of this religious tradition are also included in this article as well as minor references to xylographs with such decorations. This is essential to understand that Tibetan book culture is a long-lasting tradition that permeates different religious milieux and spans from manuscript to xylographic production over the centuries.

In this paragraph, I will attempt to provide a chronological overview of types of writing frames based on books examined in situ in various collections including both manuscripts and xylographs, as well as collections available online in digital format. However, this overview should be considered as preliminary, given the unknown subject and the current state of the art of Tibetan codicology, and especially the dating of a manuscript, which remains one of the most difficult challenges in this field. The dating of Tibetan books, especially in handwritten form, may be deduced from a combination of several aspects—codicological, philological, historical, stylistic, material, etc.—all pointing towards the same period; however, so far, the radio-carbon dating of paper seems to have been the most reliable method to establish the production period of a book. Unfortunately, this scientific analysis provides dating for the writing support on which a certain work is written but it is also possible that paper is stored for some time before being used, especially to create individual manuscripts. It is therefore necessary that results of radio-carbon dating match the other facets of the examined artifact to consider it as the actual period of production.

Writing frames are used to delineate the area where the text of a given book must be written but are also considered as protective and ornamental elements of Tibetan artifacts designed to preserve scriptures over time. Earlier manuscripts (8th–10th centuries) in oblong loose-leaves format did not usually exhibit any writing frame, judging from extant exemplars coming from Dunhuang and other central Asian areas, although simple vertical lines can occasionally be found on both side margins (see for example Dotson and Helman-Ważny 2016, p. 65).

From about the 11th century, the written area seems to become regularly ruled, mostly by drawing a simple vertical line in black or red ink at both side margins, as seen for example in the Tabo (Scherrer-Schaub and Steinkellner 1999, Plates II, XII–XIV) and Tholing manuscripts (Figure 1).1

Before going into detail regarding the various types of decoration for writing frames and their chronology, it seems necessary to explain that at the beginning of the so-called “Later Spread” of Buddhism in Tibet (phyi dar, end of the 10th century/beginning of the 11th century), Tibetan manuscripts did not present a first leaf with the title written in the middle of it, on the recto, since this practice appears to have probably started around the 13th century, becoming common around the 15th century (Kapstein 2024, vol. I, pp. 127, 129). In this early phase, Buddhist works were mostly canonical texts translated from Sanskrit, exhibiting what we may call a “frontispiece”. This usually included the title of the text in both Sanskrit—written by using Tibetan syllables—and Tibetan. Such titles could cover two or three leaves, since letters were written in large calligraphy, especially in lavish editions of Prajñāpāramitā texts. These long frontispieces could exhibit decorated writing frames; this could also occur with the following leaves, which contained the beginning of the work. Usually, frontispieces presented much more sumptuous writing frames than the following leaves; in any case, decorated frames did not usually cover the entire manuscript, as the written area of most leaves was commonly outlined by two simple vertical lines as margins or a simple rectangle.

When the title page on the first leaf started to appear, writing frames were drawn from the second leaf onwards, but the most elaborate could be generally found on the second and the third, whereas the following leaves often exhibited two simple vertical side lines or a simple rectangle, as seen in earlier manuscripts.

In the 12th century, examples of writing frames surrounding the entire written area began to appear, often being a simple rectangle—sometimes formed by a double line, generally drawn with either black ink or with two different colours (Figure 2). At the same time, the first decorated writing frames started to be drawn in some Prajñāpāramitā manuscripts, generally presenting dots and geometrical motifs (Figure 3).

Decorations outlining the entire written area could be especially found in lavish editions, that is to say, in manuscripts on blue-black paper (mthing shog) penned with golden and/or silver ink. These latter books could be entirely written on blue-black paper or exhibit only the frontispiece or the first leaves on such peculiar paper. mThing shog manuscripts often presented a double line, one of which was sometimes drawn in gold whereas the other was depicted in silver, as shown for example in Figure 2. These editions seem to be often used for works included in the literary corpus of the Perfection of Wisdom or for other sūtra and appear to be the most numerous exhibiting entirely decorated writing frames.

In the following century, writing frames showing larger vertical side lines began to surface, becoming more common around the 15th century. These mostly exhibited coloured lines but some presented decorations within the double line. Rectangular frames outlining the whole written area also started to be represented with larger lines, mostly coloured (Figure 4), and sometimes exhibited two additional vertical side lines, often coloured as well.2 However, examples of entirely coloured or decorated frames drawn with thin lines continued to be used, especially for luxury editions, and began to appear also on liturgical texts. Different tints could be chosen, sometimes used in a pattern showing alternate colours (Figure 5), and geometrical and phytomorphic motifs could be represented to embellish frames.

In the 16th century, writing frames occasionally started to include more elaborate and sometimes coloured patterns along the entire contour in texts belonging to different literary genres, such as hagiographies. The elaboration of writing frames seems to further develop in the following centuries (17th and 18th), especially—again—on lavish manuscripts on blue-black paper (Figure 6). Works selected to contain these decorations mainly belonged, once more, to the literary corpus of the Perfection of Wisdom.

A section of the following paragraph will be dedicated to presenting some examples of entirely decorated writing frames.

3. Types of Decoration for Writing Frames

This paragraph will be devoted to describing several types of decoration used for writing frames in manuscripts containing Buddhist works. This is by no means an exhaustive presentation of this element; it must be considered instead as a starting point towards a full comprehension of its use over the centuries.

Earliest and simpler writing frames (12th–14th) may only be coloured, sometimes by using alternate dyes, or show dots or geometrical and rice-grain patterns.3 Simple floral motifs may also be found. One of the well-spread geometrical motifs used for writing frames is a semi-spherical pattern drawn with black (Figure 7) or with alternate black and red ink. This pattern starts to be represented in manuscripts produced in the 12th century and continues to be employed over the centuries (Figure 8), not only in the Buddhist context but also in the Bon po tradition. Books showing this motif belong to different literary genres.

It is sometimes possible to find lotus petals, usually represented on the lower margin of the frame (Figure 9). The lotus (pad ma chu skyes) is one of the most wide-spread symbols in Tibetan Buddhist manuscripts and xylographs, also used in miniatures and decorations of title frames.4 Another symbol used is the triratna (“Three Jewels”, Tib. dkon mchog gsum).5

In later manuscripts, the above-mentioned patterns can be found combined and coloured.

The variety of patterns and symbols in these decorations could be imputed to period, provenance, and literary genre but also to the imagination of the artist in charge of that particular task. Unfortunately, it is still not clear who was the creator of such decorations. A specific mention of these artists is not found in colophons nor—to my knowledge—is it explained in any other source. Since not all manuscripts presenting decorated writing frames exhibit illuminations as well, it seems likely that the scribe was also commissioned to draw these frames; however, in case of illuminated books, the draftsman could also be charged of writing frames. We are aware that artists working on Buddhist artifacts had to follow precise iconographic and iconometric rules found in manuals, but these mostly concerned the creation of Buddhist figures such as Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and deities; nevertheless, landscapes behind figures and decorations of clothes in miniatures were left to the individual taste and style of artists. I believe this was also the case with decorations of title and writing frames, although so far it has not been possible to find any source supporting this hypothesis.6

Some Examples of Entirely Decorated Writing Frames in Manuscripts from the 12th to the 18th Century

This section will be devoted to describing some entirely decorated writing frames, which will be presented in chronological order.

The first examples are two 12th-century luxury editions of The Perfection of Wisdom in 25,000 Verses written on black paper with golden ink, preserved in the Nesar collection (Dolpo, Nepal).7 The first leaf of N405 (Vol. ga) shows a rectangular writing frame composed of a double line in gold, exhibiting dots drawn with silver ink in the middle (Figure 3). Another volume of the same series (N331, Vol. cha) presents a rectangular writing frame formed by a double line in silver ink at both side margins and in golden ink in the upper and lower border on its first leaf. Dots are drawn in silver within the double line in the upper part and in golden ink within the lines at both side margins. The lower border exhibits instead stylised petals of lotus in golden and silver ink within the double line (Figure 9).8

Another example of decorated frame showing both dots and lotus petals can be seen in a 15th-century illuminated manuscript on dark paper written in golden ink currently preserved in the Tucci Tibetan Collection (vol. 1279) of the “IsIAO Library” (National Central Library of Rome).9 This exhibits a decorated writing frame in the first two leaves of one of its texts. This is a liturgical text connected to the Seven Buddhas. In the catalogue of the Tucci Collection, the manuscript is included in the section on medical works but the ends to which the text may be used surpass its medical applications in curing illness and protecting devotees from demonic possession.10 The verso of its first leaf shows a writing frame covering both side margins and the lower border (Figure 10). The upper part does not present any ruled line. Both side margins exhibit two thin lines with dots drawn within them. The external line is penned with gold whereas the internal with silver. Another silver line runs parallel to the internal one. Dots are depicted in alternate gold and silver. The lower border of the frame is instead formed by petals of lotus, also drawn in gold and silver ink, and a horizontal line drawn above them in silver. This writing frame only contains the incipit of this text, saying: “In the language of India” (rGya gar skad du). The following leaf instead shows on its recto an entirely decorated frame in gold representing the same motif with dots surrounding the written part (Figure 11). The verso of this leaf exhibits instead a writing frame only drawn at both side margins. This is also penned with gold and shows the same motif with dots (Figure 12).

Patterns used in this manuscript are the same exhibited in the two 12th-century volumes of the Perfection of Wisdom in 25,000 Verses from Dolpo. The fact that the same pattern is used for works belonging to different literary genres and produced at different times suggests that decorations were not designed for a certain type of work and that they were employed throughout the centuries. It is currently not clear where this manuscript was produced; therefore, the hypothesis that these motifs were used in the same geographical area cannot be verified but it is possible.

The second text included in vol. 1279, which is a sūtra, does not present any writing frame on its first or second leaf; surprisingly, this instead exhibits a frame on its very last leaf, which represents the same pattern found in the previous text (Figure 13). Decorated writing frames are not usually depicted at the end of a manuscript and, thus far, this is the only example discovered.

A 16th–17th-century manuscript exhibiting an entirely decorated writing frame is kept once again in the Tucci Tibetan Collection of the “IsIAO Library”. This is the biography of the ‘Brug pa bKa’ brgyud pa master rGyal ba rGod tshang pa mGon po rdo rje (1189–1258) written at La phyi in 1540 by Sangs rgyas dar po, a disciple of both lHa btsun Rin chen rnam rgyal (1473–1557) and ‘Jam dpal chos lha (1489–1550s?), and printed at gNya’ nang (southwestern Tibet). The manuscript seems to be a copy of the xylographic edition, including the printing colophon (par byang) but also exhibiting a further prayer after that by ‘Jam dpal chos lha found in the gNya’ nang print.11 This book presents a decorated rectangular frame coloured in yellow, red, and green, showing a phytomorphic pattern in the verso of his first leaf (Figure 14). This differs from frames represented in manuscripts of the Perfection of Wisdom or other sūtra, both on white or dark paper. Decorations employed in writing frames of these latter works are usually depicted in black or red ink or, in case of mthing shog manuscripts, in gold, silver, cinnabar, or other inks, but they are not usually coloured. The difference might be associated with their literary genre or else with their provenance.

An example of a decorated frame in a 17th–18th-century manuscript can be seen in a Perfection of Wisdom in 8000 Verses coming from E yul (South-Eastern Tibet), which is preserved in the Newark Museum of Art (20.495A, B). This is a luxury edition on blue-black paper, which was part of the dowry of a princess. Precious materials such as gold, turquoises, and pearls were used to produce this scripture. This book presents much more elaborate phytomorphic patterns in gold covering both side margins and the lower border of its first leaf as well as both side margins of its second leaf. Different patterns are represented in the first leaf, where vertical side lines are drawn in gold and embellished with turquoises, whereas the second leaf exhibits the same motif at both side margins.12

4. Concluding Remarks

According to books examined so far, it appears that decorated writing frames were used almost exclusively on oblong loose-leaves manuscripts. Although this is the most common format for Tibetan books, this choice seems to be associated with the literary genre as well.

Scrolls (shog ril/dril) and concertina (ltebs mgo ma) formats were mostly employed during the so-called “Early Spread” (snga dar) of Buddhism, when Tibetan manuscripts did not exhibit much ornamentation.

Further formats found in the Tibetan cultural sphere are the stitched books or codex (ltebs zur ma or mgo ‘tshems pa) and the single sheets (shog gcig). Stitched books spread from the 10th century onwards, whereas single sheets seem to have surfaced earlier but continued to be used over the centuries and are still employed nowadays for letters and archival documents.

Stitched books were generally used for small-size works such as rituals, texts on divination, astrology, hippiatry, medicine, herbarium, and so on. The small size is particularly relevant here because such books could be brought along to be consulted while performing different kinds of rituals or ceremonies, collecting ingredients to be used for preparing medicine, etc. According to manuscripts and xylographs analysed so far, books with this format could exhibit several illustrations and, in some cases—mainly associated with astrological works—even ornamental writings and decorations on the first leaves, but they did not usually carry ornate title frames, writing frames or elaborate opening auspicious symbols (mgo yig). Ritual texts, in particular, appear to be deprived of most ornamentations—also when produced in loose-leaves format, likely due to the practical use of these scriptures; however, this research line is completely new and a more systematic study on as many manuscripts as possible must be undertaken in order to affirm this with certainty.

Single sheets were not employed for actual works, but only for letters, legal, administrative, and archival documents; therefore, the ornamentations were extremely rare and, to my knowledge, mainly limited to documents issued by the government.13

It seems therefore that decorations of writing frames were mostly drawn on large dpe cha, and particularly on the most spread Buddhist scriptures, such as the Perfection of Wisdom, or different sūtra.14 It is also possible to find such decorations in other literary genres, but these are less frequent. So far, samples in hagiographies (rnam thar)15 and liturgical texts (cho ga) have been discovered.16 Works of different literary genres exhibiting ornate writing frames are also present, for example, a zhu lan text (“replies to questions”) belonging to the bKa’ gdams pa school17 and a commentary associated with the bKa’ brgyud tradition,18 but at the current stage of research, it is not possible to state whether these are only isolated examples or constitute instead extant samples of a wider tradition.

Decorated writing frames seem to surface during the “Later Spread” of Buddhism in Tibet, starting from the 12th century onwards. The first samples appear to be found in lavish editions, especially on blue-black paper manuscripts, mostly of Prajñāpāramitā texts. Writing frames on such samples generally exhibited dots or semi-circular motifs, but further decorations such as small flowers—usually on both side margins—and lotus petals—to my knowledge only used on the lower border—can also be found in these manuscripts. Later, decorations can be distinguished by the use of colours and the combination of different patterns.

This tradition was also known in the Bon po book culture. Decorated writing frames can be seen in numerous Bon po manuscripts. Patterns appear to be diverse and more elaborate, often exhibited in the entire writing frame. This was sometimes composed of two rectangular frames, both decorated with various motifs (Figure 15). Red ink was mostly used for such decorations, sometimes combined with black ink. It is possible that books presenting these frames were produced in the same geographical area or during the same period but, so far, I have not been able to locate their provenance or dating; however, research on this topic is currently ongoing.

Also, similar decorations are represented in some 16th-century xylographs, although rarely (Figure 16). Again, such samples might be linked only to a specific area or time. So far, examples have been found in Mang yul Gung thang (southwestern Tibet) prints,19 but further specimens produced in a different area or period might exist as well. This should be the subject of an additional study to be carried out in the future.

Ornamental writing frames in the Buddhist context mostly appear on manuscripts written in dbu can (block capital) script. This again might be associated with the literary genre of works selected to be decorated as such. On the contrary, in Bon book culture this element generally appears in dbu med (cursive) manuscripts, but this can be explained by the fact that most works of this religious tradition are written in cursive. Only three among the numerous Buddhist manuscripts exhibiting decorated frames examined so far are in dbu med (Tucci Tibetan Collection, vols. 770/3, 1006,20 1457), respectively, being a biography, a liturgical text, and a commentary. The first two are small-size manuscripts (ca. 21–23 × 5.5–8.5 cm); the third is slightly bigger (cm 33.5 × 7), but at the current state of research, it is not possible to determine their dating and/or provenance; any further hypothesis on this matter should therefore be postponed to future investigations.

This essay was undertaken with the aim of showing the relevance of this codicological element as one of the factors to be taken into consideration when attempting to assess the dating of a certain manuscript. Another objective was understanding the use of this element over the centuries. Manuscripts examined so far are numerous and scattered in collections preserved in different libraries (the “IsIAO Library”, the British Library, the Bodleian Library, the National Archives of Kathmandu, a private library in Kathmandu, etc.); available online in digital formats, especially on repositories such as Buddhist Digital Archive (BUDA), the Endangered Archive Programme (EAP) of the British Library, and the Tibetan Manuscript Project Vienna (TMPV); and accessible in relevant publications of the field (see, for example, Heller 2009; Helman-Ważny 2014; Luczanits and Viehbeck 2021; Kapstein 2024). These manuscripts go back to different period and belong to all literary genres and Buddhist religious schools. However, as this research line is completely new, it is necessary to consider the remarks made here as preliminary. This is only the starting point of a study that certainly requires further investigation, but it is my hope that thus far neglected elements like decorated writing frames may gain more attention from scholars in this field in the future, not only for the assessment of dating, but also to identify the provenance of artifacts, once further information on a consistent number of items has been collected. This, in turn, may lead to the understanding of the spread of certain works throughout Tibet, contributing to the comprehension of the dissemination of the Buddhist schools in the various areas of the country.