Text, folio 3 (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

Byzantine icon painting Classical Antiquity Religious

Dominant colour

Text, folio 3 (verso), 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 panel covered in tiny, neat rows of black text. The letters look carved or pressed into the wood, arranged in three sections. Two small circular holes are spaced evenly near the top. The text is part of a Buddhist scripture, written in an ancient style. It’s old—dated to 1119 by a calendar used in Nepal. Look up The Cleveland Museum of Art to see more objects like this.