Artwork
Text, Folio 84 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 84 (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
The object is a narrow wooden plank, originally part of a manuscript containing the Ashtasahasrika Prajnapāramitā, a Buddhist text known as the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines. The board bears a dense arrangement of dark brown calligraphic characters that run horizontally across its length, forming a continuous textual field.
Subject & Meaning
The inscribed text represents a portion of the Prajnapāramitā sutra, a foundational Mahayana scripture that expounds the concept of emptiness and the perfection of wisdom. Though the specific language of the script is not identified here, the passage would have been used for study, recitation, or ritual within a Buddhist monastic context.
Technique & Style
The characters are rendered in a fluid, calligraphic hand, typical of East Asian manuscript traditions, where ink is applied with a brush onto a smooth, polished wooden surface. The board’s light wood provides a neutral background that accentuates the dark brown ink, while two small perforations at either end suggest a method of mounting or hanging.
History & Provenance
This folio originates from a larger codex of the Ashtasahasrika Prajnapāramitā, likely produced in a monastic workshop. The piece is now part of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection, having entered the museum through acquisition or donation, though precise details of its prior ownership are not recorded in the available data.
Context
Manuscript production of Buddhist sutras was a central activity in East Asian religious centers from the Tang dynasty onward, combining devotional practice with artistic expression. Wooden boards such as this were sometimes used for portable texts or as components of larger, multi‑panel displays within temple 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 72 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 84 (recto), 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 28 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 63 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Text, Folio 68 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)