Text, Folio 8 (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

Dominant colour

Text, Folio 8 (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 board with three rectangular panels. Each panel has rows of tiny, dark marks arranged in neat lines across a light background. Two small circular holes appear near the center of the board. The marks look like they might be text, but they’re not letters we’d recognize. Instead, they’re a pattern of dots and lines, possibly an ancient script. If you’re curious about how this kind of object is preserved, check out The Cleveland Museum of Art.