Artwork
Text, folio 51 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, folio 51 (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 object is a narrow wooden strip divided into three rectangular panels, each bearing a dense array of uniformly spaced perforations arranged in a grid. The wood shows signs of age, and metal rings are attached near the edges on both sides. It functions as a printing matrix for reproducing text from a Buddhist sutra.
Subject & Meaning
The perforated matrix was employed to print passages of the Ashtasahasrika Prajñāpāramitā, the "Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines," a central Mahāyāna Buddhist scripture. By transferring ink through the holes, the text could be replicated for devotional and instructional purposes.
Technique & Style
The piece exemplifies early block‑printing technology, where a wooden block is pierced with a regular grid of holes to form characters. Ink applied to the surface passes through the apertures onto paper, producing legible script. The uniformity of the holes reflects a systematic, utilitarian approach rather than artistic embellishment.
History & Provenance
Originating in a manuscript tradition that flourished in East Asia, the strip was likely produced in a monastic workshop for the dissemination of Buddhist teachings. It entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is presently conserved and displayed as part of the museum’s Asian art holdings.
Context
During the period when woodblock printing spread across Buddhist communities, such tools enabled mass production of sutras, facilitating wider access to religious texts. The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines was a widely studied work, and printing matrices like this were essential to its propagation.
Legacy
Objects of this type illustrate the technological advances that underpinned the transmission of Buddhist literature. They provide scholars with tangible evidence of early printing practices and the material culture surrounding scriptural study in historic monastic settings.
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 172 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 128 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, folio 51 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 110 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 106 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 127 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, folio 48 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, folio 54 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 119 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)