Text, Folio 56 (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

Dominant colour

Text, Folio 56 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra) is a 14 unspecified by Unknown, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

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

About this work

This is a long wooden block with three carved sections. Each section holds rows of tiny, sharp letters pressed into the wood. The letters are uniform and packed tightly, like typewriter keys but hand-carved. Two small white dots separate the sections. These blocks were used to print Buddhist texts. The precision shows how carefully they were made by hand. Look up The Cleveland Museum of Art to see more objects like this.