Artwork
Text, Folio 128 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 128 (verso), 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
This object is a single folio from a medieval manuscript containing the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, known in Sanskrit as the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita‑sutra. The sheet is narrow and elongated, its paper aged to a yellowish hue, and it bears three blocks of text arranged in descending order of size.
Subject & Meaning
The page presents a portion of the Prajnaparamita sutra, a central Mahayana Buddhist text that expounds the concept of emptiness and the perfection of wisdom. The three textual sections likely correspond to successive passages, each rendered in a distinct script size to guide reading or emphasize hierarchy within the sutra.
Technique & Style
The script is executed in ink on paper, with three varying font sizes that suggest a deliberate visual hierarchy. The smallest characters occupy the upper band, a slightly larger set follows, and the largest script forms the lower block. The hand appears to be a traditional brush technique typical of East Asian manuscript production.
History & Provenance
The folio originates from a larger codex of the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita, a work circulated widely across Buddhist monastic centers in medieval Asia. It now forms part of the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is catalogued as a painting, reflecting the museum’s classification of illuminated manuscript pages.
Context
Manuscripts of the Prajnaparamita were produced for devotional and scholarly use, often copied by monastic scribes. The use of multiple script sizes on a single page is characteristic of certain manuscript traditions that sought to aid oral recitation or to highlight doctrinal importance.
Legacy
Pages such as this provide insight into the material culture of Buddhist textual transmission, illustrating the interplay of calligraphic practice and religious pedagogy. Their preservation in museum collections supports ongoing study of script development and the dissemination of Mahayana thought.
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 82 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 121 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 135 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, folio 54 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 126 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 115 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 88 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 66 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 138 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 129 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)