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Books, Autographs & Prints / Part II

Wednesday 31 March 2021, 03:00 PM • Rome

361

India

Sanskrit astrological manuscript Janma janmapattrika, 1800

Estimate

€ 800 - 1.000

Sold

€ 2.304

The price includes buyer's premium

Information

Sheet size: mm. 369 x 225 approx.; dimensions of the writing mirror: mm. 290 x 168 approx.; comprising a total of 84 pages - 82 of which text and 2 left blank - written in a clear Indian devanāgarī script in Kashmiri style, with the use of black ink for the commentary text, where the headings of the analytical sections are rubricated, as well as, occasionally, the abbreviations of the zodiac signs and planetary stations. The number of staves on the facade is very variable, and does not meet any strict criteria due to the needs of the construction of the page, which in turn are justified.

(Decorations). / p>

Several pages of this manuscript contain diagrams, grids or diagrams, both numerical and in letters, symbols or abbreviations, as well as stereotypical and allegorical illustrations of the planets and signs of the Hindu zodiac depicted as anthropomorphic deities with specific attributes. The stars are conceived and understood here as elements of stable influence on the most diverse aspects of the life of the individual, such as luck in business or in love, longevity and descent, as well as determining the development of the main traits of personal character. Each single page of this codex is delimited by a frame made up of a series of orthogonal bands, mainly colored in deep yellow and edged with dark red lines (elsewhere the bands can be light blue or red), framing both textual comments and schemes. synoptics & nbsp;

Conditions: The manuscript underwent a mainly conservative restoration in February 1999, by virtue of which it is now in excellent condition. This code is a clear example of the importance attributed in Hindu civilization to predictive astrology, a practice still supported today in India by a widespread faith, thus qualifying itself as a culturally relevant element of the Hindu mentality. & Nbsp;

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Specialist Notes

Sanskrit Kashmiri manuscript on laid paper, to be dated at the very end of the 19-th century, reporting a janmapattrikā-genre treatise, i.e.: a “nativity paper”, a personal horoscope, in other words, aimed at predicting the commissioner’s entire life ahead based on relative position of the planets in the moment of the commissioner’s birth. As for our manuscript, we do not know, sadly, to whom this huge horoscope had been dedicated. The manuscript is decorated with many colourful diagrams, sometimes arranged in the shape of lotus flowers, as well as in various geometrical patterns, also depicting Hindu zodiac signs and planets through small illuminations of anthropomorphic deities with their own attributes. Such manuscripts are of great interest insofar as they give away the importance of astrology in premodern, modern, and even contemporary Indian culture of virtually all social strata.

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