Text, Folio 9 (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

Byzantine icon painting Classical Antiquity Religious

Dominant colour

Text, Folio 9 (verso), 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 strip covered in tiny, precise handwritten characters. The letters are arranged in neat rows, packed closely together. Two small round marks sit near the top, like dots on a page. The text looks like an old script, possibly from a religious or scholarly book. It’s written in ink that hasn’t faded much, showing careful craftsmanship. If you like this, look up The Cleveland Museum of Art to see more historical texts like it.