A set of rare and complete Burmese manuscript, Kammavaca
Kammavaca is the most sacred of Burmese religious texts, and was used for monastic ritual, most commonly for ordination. It contains rules of monastic service and includes scripts (khandaka) on ordination, admonitions to the newly ordained monk. It is now very difficult to find a complete set and very good condition like this.
Formal expert appraisal included:
"This kammavaca Buddhist manuscript consists of 2 covers and 16 leaves,
The outer cover leaves are fashioned from lacquered wood to provide a rigid
finish.
The leaves are also extensively lacquered and decorated with gold and most
likely to be based around palm leaves (although the material base can vary).
This beautiful example is highly decorated and the leaves carry 6 lines of Pali
script, as well as Burmese numbering.
The small hole in each leaf was so they could be placed over a bamboo
skewer when being read.
Overall this manuscript is in very good condition. There are signs of wear,
consistent with age – particular to the covers in the form of wear to the
lacquer and some losses at the extremities where the covers have sustained
small losses at the corners. The interior leaves appear to be in excellent
condition and remain bright and untarnished, with the black Pali writing nice
and clear.
Kammavaca in this condition, and as a complete set, are increasingly rare as
they often split into individual leaves for display purposes. Also, as 16 leaves
are the most common grouping for the manuscript for a complete text, leaves
from partial sets are often mixed to provide the appearance of a complete set,
when actually they are a composite set of leaves from different sources. We
have examined the images supplied and are pleased to report that this is an
original complete set with all its original leaves present.
This is a special manuscript and would have been purchased at considerable expense. It would have been presented to a novice monk at the time of their
ordination, being commissioned by a lay person (typically a parent or family benefactor), gaining merit in the process.
Dating:
Sometimes these manuscripts are dated, but this is not the case with this one. Dating can be difficult as manuscripts like this continue to be made in the
same style to this day.
Taking into account the overall appearance, the 6 line text format, and the design style, I would consider this example to be from the 19th Century.
I would place this example circa 1850-1880 – a little older than most kammavaca offered for sale.
Age: Burma, Mandalay Period, 19th Century"
Measurement: Height 4.2 C.M. / Width 10.5 C.M. / Length 54 C.M.
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