Text, Folio 141 (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

Byzantine icon painting Classical Antiquity Religious

Dominant colour

Text, Folio 141 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra) is a 14 unspecified by Unknown, a Byzantine icon painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

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

About this work

This is a long, narrow wooden strip with three rectangular sections. Each section is packed with tiny, precise black marks arranged in neat rows. The wood has a worn, golden-brown color, and two small circular holes are drilled near the edges. The marks look like they might be writing or symbols, but they’re so small and dense it’s hard to tell what they say. The whole thing feels like an old, carefully made object—maybe a kind of code or script. If you’re curious about how ancient texts like this were made, check out The Cleveland Museum of Art.