Artwork
Text, Folio 4 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 4 (verso), 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.
About this work
History & Provenance
The folio originates from a manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, produced at Vikramaśīla University around 1119.
Text, Folio 4 (verso) is a painted leaf from an illuminated manuscript of the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra dated to 1119. The work was produced at Vikramaśīla University by an unidentified artist, and nothing is recorded about a specific patron or commission. It entered the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1938, receiving the accession number 1938.301.4.b, and has remained in the museum’s collection since. No further ownership transfers are documented in the available sources.
The folio originates from a manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, produced at Vikramaśīla University around 1119. It is part of the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection, catalogued under accession number 1938.301.4.b. The work has not been documented in major exhibition histories beyond its inclusion in the museum's holdings. Its provenance is tied to the museum's acquisition of the manuscript fragment in the mid-20th century.
Context
The verso of folio 4 from an illuminated manuscript of the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra, produced circa 1119 at Vikramaśīla University, depicts a Buddhist painting whose artistic and textual context has been examined within the study of early medieval Buddhist manuscript illumination. Scholars note its significance in understanding the transmission of Mahayana sutras through illustrated codices, situating it within the broader corpus of Indian Buddhist manuscript production and its influence on later Southeast Asian artistic traditions.
The attribution to an unknown artist associated with the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection underscores ongoing debates about authorship in early Buddhist manuscript painting, where stylistic analysis often relies on paleographic and iconographic comparisons rather than documented provenance. Its placement in a corpus of texts studied for doctrinal and artistic evolution reflects its role in shaping scholarly narratives about the visual culture of Mahayana Buddhism in medieval India.
Overview
The object is a single folio, the verso side of page four, from a manuscript of the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita‑sutra, a Buddhist text known as the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines. The leaf measures roughly the size of a standard manuscript page and is composed of light‑brown parchment with a weathered, uneven left edge, indicating considerable age and use.
Subject & Meaning
The page contains a continuous block of script divided into three distinct sections, each differing in line count. The text is intended for careful study, reflecting the sutra’s role as a doctrinal guide within Mahayana Buddhism, offering teachings on the nature of emptiness and the path to enlightenment.
Technique & Style
The script is rendered in a formal, cursive hand characteristic of medieval Buddhist manuscripts. Letterforms are fluid yet disciplined, with occasional unfamiliar symbols that may represent ligatures or doctrinal abbreviations. The ink appears dark and has penetrated the parchment, while the overall layout suggests a deliberate, meditative approach to reading.
Artist & collection
- Text, folio 3 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 5 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 6 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 35 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 108 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 32 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 36 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 66 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 6 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 8 (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 31 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)