Artwork
Text, Folio 55 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra
Text, Folio 55 (verso), from a Kalpa-sutra is an unspecified painting by the Mughal Painting artist Unknown. It dates from 1488 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The work is a painted representation of a folio from a Kalpa‑sutra manuscript.
About this work
Overview
The work is a painted representation of a folio from a Kalpa‑sutra manuscript. Executed on a light‑beige ground, the image records a page of text rendered in ink, divided into two distinct zones. The upper half is inscribed solely in black, while the lower half combines black and red pigments, each line bearing a unique character of an unidentified script.
Subject & Meaning
The depicted page belongs to a Kalpa‑sutra, a genre of Buddhist literature concerned with ritual rules and monastic discipline. Though the specific content cannot be read, the bifurcated coloration may indicate a structural division within the text, such as primary verses and supplementary commentary, a common practice in manuscript tradition.
Technique & Style
The artist employed ink on a prepared paper or parchment surface, using fine brushes to produce crisp, linear strokes. The contrast between the monochrome upper section and the polychrome lower section demonstrates a deliberate use of color to differentiate textual layers, a technique observed in South Asian manuscript illumination.
History & Provenance
The folio originates from a Kalpa‑sutra codex, likely produced in a monastic workshop. Its exact date and place of creation remain uncertain, as the script has not been identified and no colophon is present. The painting form suggests it may have been created as a later visual record of the manuscript rather than as the original page itself.
Context
Kalpa‑sutras formed part of the broader corpus of Buddhist canonical and regulatory texts circulating across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The use of red ink alongside black was a conventional method to highlight important passages or doctrinal terms, reflecting the pedagogical priorities of monastic scribes.
Legacy
As a visual surrogate for a textual artifact, the painting offers scholars a glimpse into the material culture of Buddhist manuscript production. Its preservation allows comparative study of script styles, pigment use, and the aesthetic conventions that framed sacred literature in pre‑modern Buddhist societies.
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
