Text, Folio 110 (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

Text, Folio 110 (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

This is a long, narrow wooden block covered in tiny, evenly spaced dots arranged in rows. The dots form a grid of text, like raised Braille or an old printing stamp. The wood looks worn, with two small metal rings on the sides—maybe for hanging it up. This block was used to stamp sacred Buddhist scripture onto paper or cloth. The dots would leave ink marks when pressed, creating repeated lines of text. Look up The Cleveland Museum of Art to see this and other ancient Buddhist texts.