Colophon, folio 188 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Dominant colour

Colophon, folio 188 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra) is a 14 unspecified by Unknown, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 14
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a page from an old Buddhist book: gold letters on deep blue, framed by red and green borders. Tiny figures kneel at the bottom, hands folded in prayer. This page was made in 1119 by an artist we don’t know. A monk paid for the whole book to earn good karma—like a spiritual donation. The gold ink wasn’t just pretty; it showed the words were sacred. If you like this, look up *painting: nepal, kathmandu, indian art* for more like it.

The story of this work

Overview

This manuscript was commissioned by a Nepalese monk named Aryashrimittra in the year 239 of the Nepalese lunisolar calendar. This date corresponds specifically to 1119. Monks and laypeople alike became patrons of books in order to accrue religious merit, or punya , for themselves, their families, and their teachers. Doing so not only showed the patron’s piety and status, but also assisted them in the cycle of reincarnation by excising bad karma. Commissioning books was also favorable because doing so disseminated the Buddha’s teachings, as books are portable, unlike large stone monuments.

Read the full account in the museum source.