Text, Folio 152 (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 152 (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 wooden block covered in tiny, carved squares. The squares form neat rows of characters, like a grid of stamps. The wood has a warm brown color, and the carving looks precise and uniform. This block was used to print Buddhist texts, stamped over and over to copy sacred words. The characters are packed tightly, showing how carefully scribes worked by hand before printing. Check out The Cleveland Museum of Art to see more objects like this.