Prajnaparamita flanked by two bodhisattvas, folio 187 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Unknown Artist
Sunday, September 14, 1119 (year 239 of the Newar Samvat in the month of Ashvina)
Medium
Gum tempera and ink on palm leaf
Dimensions
5.3 × 54.3 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1938.301.187.a
About this artwork
In the center of the page is a seated goddess of wisdom, named Prajnaparamita, who personifies the content of the text itself. A red and white bodhisattva also attend her on either side. This manuscript, consisting of 188 double-sided folios, was calligraphed by a scribe at a monastery in northeastern India, commissioned by a monk from Nepal. Judging from the style of the paintings, they are the work of Nepalese artists.