Tibet.- Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Verses, manuscript in Tibetan, on white paper, over 400 leaves in 32 chapters, text in black ink to recto and verso, mostly in 8 lines, opening leaves with 4, 5, 6 and 7 lines, coloured miniatures to title and final leaf, small chip affecting title, title and final leaf reinforced through several leaves stitched together, some creasing, soiling and light staining, edges chipped and frayed, particularly at beginning and end, leaves loose between 2 wooden covers, upper cover with remains of painted decoration in black, red and green, upper cover with decorative carving to right fore-edge, lower cover plain, rubbed and scuffed, each leaf c.215 x 630mm., covers 230 x 695mm., [Tibet], [c.18th or 19th century].*** A canonical text that occupies an entire volume of the Tibetan tripitaka, said to be the words of the Buddha as taught to a gathering of 1,250 arhats on the mountain called Vulture's Peak, near Rajagriha in Nothern India. The title is flanked by a pair of miniatures identified by inscriptions below: "homage to the supreme teacher" (i.e. Buddha Sakyamuni, the Buddha of the present) on the left and "homage to the venerable Maitreya" (i.e. the Buddha of the future) on the right. The final leaf bears miniatures of Manjughosa (Manjusri, patron deity of wisdom) on the left and "the great mother" (Prajnaparamita, the perfection of wisdom) on the right. Two groups of devotees honouring an unidentified buddha/bodhisattva figure occupy the lower register in the centre of the page.