Artwork

Text, Folio 112 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)

Text, Folio 112 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra) is an unspecified painting by the Byzantine icon painting artist Unknown. It dates from 14 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

Overview

The object is a narrow wooden board, measuring roughly the size of a folio, whose surface is covered with a dense array of raised square dots. These tactile markings are organized into uniform rows that represent text, allowing the content to be read by touch. The board’s edges show signs of wear, and two small perforations near the top suggest it was once attached to a larger assembly.

Subject & Meaning

The dot pattern encodes a passage from the Buddhist scripture known as the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, or the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita‑sutra. This text is a central Mahayana treatise that expounds the concept of emptiness and the path to enlightenment, making the tactile version a tool for conveying sacred teachings to visually impaired practitioners.

Technique & Style

The tactile script is created by embossing the wood with square, raised dots that function similarly to Braille, though arranged in a different format. The precision of the dot placement—consistent spacing, uniform size, and flawless alignment—demonstrates a high level of craftsmanship, likely achieved with specialized carving tools designed for tactile inscription.

History & Provenance

The piece entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art through acquisition, where it is catalogued among other religious and tactile artifacts.

The board originates from a manuscript tradition that produced tactile copies of Buddhist sutras for blind monastics in East Asia. While the exact date and place of manufacture are not specified, such objects are known from the late Ming to early Qing periods in China. The piece entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art through acquisition, where it is catalogued among other religious and tactile artifacts.

Context

Tactile Buddhist texts were part of a broader effort to make religious instruction accessible to all members of monastic communities, reflecting an inclusive pedagogical approach. The use of raised dot script parallels other sensory modalities employed in Buddhist practice, such as chanting and visual mandalas, underscoring the tradition’s multimodal transmission of doctrine.