Artwork

Folio 167, from a Kalpa-sutra and Story of Kalakacharya: two nuns teaching lay women (recto); genealogical text (verso)

Folio 167, from a Kalpa-sutra and Story of Kalakacharya: two nuns teaching lay women (recto); genealogical text (verso) is an unspecified painting. It dates from 1290 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Folio 167 is a painted page from a Kalpa‑sutra manuscript that also contains a genealogical text on its reverse.

About this work

Overview

Folio 167 is a painted page from a Kalpa‑sutra manuscript that also contains a genealogical text on its reverse. The recto depicts two Buddhist nuns seated centrally, surrounded by laywomen who stand attentively. The scene is rendered against a warm golden background, creating an intimate atmosphere of instruction and contemplation.

Subject & Meaning

The composition illustrates a teaching moment in which the nuns, clothed in modest monastic robes, convey religious instruction to laywomen dressed in more elaborate attire. Their raised hands signify a didactic gesture, emphasizing the transmission of Buddhist doctrine from ordained practitioners to the broader community of female followers.

Technique & Style

Executed with fine brushwork on paper, the illustration employs a limited palette dominated by gold and muted earth tones. Figures are rendered with delicate line and subtle shading, while the gold background provides a luminous field that unifies the scene and highlights the central act of teaching.

History & Provenance

The folio is part of a larger Kalpa‑sutra manuscript, a genre of Buddhist texts outlining monastic codes and rituals. It entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection through acquisition in the late 20th century, where it remains a representative example of devotional manuscript painting.

Context

Kalpa‑sutras were used in monastic settings to instruct both clergy and lay adherents. The inclusion of a genealogical text on the verso suggests the manuscript served multiple functions, linking doctrinal instruction with lineage records, a common practice in Buddhist literary culture.