Artwork
Text, Folio 33 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 33 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra) is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1119 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The object is a slender wooden panel, its surface densely covered with incised characters that occupy every available space.
About this work
History & Provenance
The folio originates from a manuscript of the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra produced in 1119. It is classified as a painting and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. No further details regarding its commission, earlier ownership, or chain of custody are documented in the available sources.
Context
The work is held in the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is catalogued among illuminated manuscript folios of the early twelfth century.
The folio from an 1119 manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines is classified as a painting, though no specific artist has been established in the scholarly literature. The work is held in the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is catalogued among illuminated manuscript folios of the early twelfth century. Its significance lies in representing the transmission of Buddhist philosophical texts through illustrated media in the South Asian (Indian or Nepalese) manuscript tradition to which Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita manuscripts of this period belong.
Overview
The object is a slender wooden panel, its surface densely covered with incised characters that occupy every available space. The carving forms a continuous block of script, arranged in orderly rows across the length of the strip. The wood shows signs of age, including wear and small metal pins that once held the pieces together.
Subject & Meaning
The engraved text is a passage from the Buddhist Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, known in Sanskrit as the Ashtasahasrika Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. This sutra expounds the doctrine of emptiness and the path toward ultimate insight, forming a central component of Mahāyāna Buddhist literature.
Technique & Style
Each character was cut directly into the wooden substrate with a fine tool, producing a uniform, linear script characteristic of early manuscript carving. The precision of the incisions suggests a skilled hand familiar with the conventions of Buddhist scriptural transcription in a pre‑printing era.
Artist & collection
- Text, Folio 8 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 33 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 34 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 38 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 37 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 36 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 83 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 31 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 123 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 6 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 64 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 40 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)