Artwork
Folio 73 from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array): Sudhana and an antelope (recto); text (verso)
Folio 73 from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array): Sudhana and an antelope (recto); text (verso) is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1100 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. This artwork is Folio 73 from a Gandavyuha-sutra, a Buddhist scripture.
About this work
History & Provenance
The work is attributed to an unknown artist and is held in the Cleveland Museum of Art under accession number 1955.
The rectangular painting on folio 73 of a Gandavyuha-sutra, depicting Sudhana with an antelope, was created in 1100 in Nepal as part of a Buddhist manuscript tradition. The work is attributed to an unknown artist and is held in the Cleveland Museum of Art under accession number 1955.49.3. Classified as a religious painting, it depicts Sudhana and an antelope on the recto with text on the verso.
No records detail a specific commissioning patron, and the folio's early history remains tied to the manuscript's original religious context before entering the museum's holdings.
Overview
This artwork is Folio 73 from a Gandavyuha-sutra, a Buddhist scripture. It presents a small painted scene on one side (recto) and religious text on the other (verso), all rendered on a wooden panel. The piece shows signs of age, with faded colors, worn edges, and some damage to the central image.
Its dual nature as both an illustrated narrative and a textual record highlights its function within a larger devotional or educational context.
Subject & Meaning
The recto of the folio features a compact, somewhat obscured painting depicting the figure of Sudhana alongside an antelope. This imagery likely illustrates a specific episode from the Gandavyuha-sutra, a significant Buddhist text detailing Sudhana's spiritual journey. While the precise narrative moment is difficult to discern due to the artwork's condition, the presence of these two figures suggests a particular interaction or teaching central to the sutra's teachings.
Technique & Style
Executed on a wooden panel, this folio combines painted illustration with inscribed or painted text. The visual elements, though now muted in color and showing wear, originally served to complement the surrounding scripture. The small scale of the central image, featuring a red-toned figure, is characteristic of manuscript illumination where visual cues enhance the understanding of the written word.
The overall appearance reflects the passage of time, with surfaces that are faded and edges that are visibly worn.
Artist & collection
- Sudhana and an antelope, folio 73 (recto) from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array)
Folio 37 from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array): Sudhana and a pair of antelopes (recto); text (verso)
Folio 115 from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array): Sudhana and a buffalo (recto); text (verso)
Folio 348 from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array): Bodhisattva Manjushri with two forms of Avalokiteshvara (recto); Bodhisattva Samantabhadra purifies the path to enlightenment, with Manjushri (verso)
Folio 22 from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array): Samantabhadra spinning clouds of things (recto); Text (verso)
Folio 20 from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array): Sudhana and a parrot (recto); Text (verso)
Sudhana and a parrot, folio 20 (recto) from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array)
Sudhana and a pair of antelopes, folio 37 (recto) from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array)
Sudhana and a buffalo, folio 115 (recto) from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array)
Samantabhadra spinning clouds of things, folio 22 (recto) from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array)
Folio 94 from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array): Sudhana and the rishi Bhishmottaranirgosha (recto); text (verso)
Sudhana and the rishi Bhishmottaranirgosha, folio 94 (recto) from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array)