Text, Folio 103 (verso), 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

Text, Folio 103 (verso), 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

This is a long wooden block with rows of tiny, carved squares and rectangles. The surface looks smooth but packed with precise details—like a grid of stamps. Two small metal pegs hold it together in the middle. The block was used to print Buddhist scripture, stamped over and over to copy text. Each mark is uniform, showing how careful the carving had to be. Look up The Cleveland Museum of Art to see more examples of printed Buddhist texts.