Artwork
Text, Folio 10 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 10 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra) is an unspecified painting by Unknown. It dates from 14 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
The work titled *Text, Folio 10 (recto)* is a painted manuscript page taken from the *Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines* sutra, known in Sanskrit as the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita. It consists of a narrow, elongated strip of text rendered in a compact, uniform script against a darkened surface, showing signs of age and wear.
Subject & Meaning
The inscription contains a portion of the Prajnaparamita literature, a central text in Mahayana Buddhism that expounds the concept of emptiness and the perfection of wisdom. The repetitive, tightly spaced characters convey the sutra’s extensive doctrinal content, while the occasional circular marks may indicate textual divisions or special emphasis within the chant.
Technique & Style
Executed in ink on a darkened paper support, the calligraphy displays a disciplined hand, with small, evenly spaced letters that form continuous lines across the page. The faint circular punctuations are integrated into the script, suggesting a decorative or functional role typical of Buddhist manuscript traditions.
History & Provenance
The folio originates from a larger codex of the *Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita* that was likely produced in a monastic workshop for devotional or scholarly use. Over time the manuscript changed hands, eventually entering the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is preserved as an example of Buddhist textual art.
Context
Manuscripts of the *Perfection of Wisdom* were widely copied across Asia from the early medieval period onward, serving both liturgical and instructional purposes. This particular page reflects the aesthetic conventions of scriptoria that prioritized legibility and compactness to accommodate the sutra’s considerable length.
Legacy
As a physical fragment of a major Buddhist text, the folio offers scholars insight into historical script styles, material culture, and the transmission of Mahayana doctrine. Its preservation allows continued study of the visual and textual practices that shaped Buddhist manuscript production.
Artist & collection
Domestic Scene
Giacomo and Cardinal Marco, investing Andrea, Abbot of San Zeno, with his Benefice
The Nymph of Fontainebleau
Portrait of a Woman
Madonna and Child with Saints in the Enclosed Garden
Venus and Minerva
Family Group of Four on Sofa
Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale
Text, folio 44 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 104 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 101 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 9 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 38 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 88 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 40 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, folio 43 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 11 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)