Text, Folio 69 (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 69 (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, narrow wooden block with three rectangular sections. Each section is filled with tiny, evenly spaced characters carved into the wood. The characters look like an old script, arranged in neat rows across the whole surface. The wood has a warm, aged tone, and the carving is precise but not deep. The block was likely used to stamp text onto paper or fabric. The careful, repeating pattern suggests it was meant for copying long religious writings by hand. This kind of tool was common in places where books were copied before printing. Look up The Cleveland Museum of Art to see more objects like this.