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Manuscript of the Jambudvipa-prajnapti-sutra (Description of Jambudvipa)

1513
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Overall: 12.3 x 30.6 cm (4 13/16 x 12 1/16 in.)
On Loan from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 25.2014
Location: not on view
This artwork is known to be under copyright.

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Description

This text discusses the geography, astronomy, and mathematics of Jambudvipa, one of the terrestrial worlds where human beings live, according to pan-Indian cosmology. The text is written in a north Indian script called Devanagari, and the language of the text is Prakrit, a regional vernacular.

Though there are only two paintings in the whole manuscript, they are made with costly pigments. Gold leaf was liberally applied, and lapis lazuli ground to a fine powder and mixed with gum arabic and water was used for the blue background. The red is cinnabar, a mercury-based mineral.
Manuscript of the Jambudvipa-prajnapti-sutra (Description of Jambudvipa)

Manuscript of the Jambudvipa-prajnapti-sutra (Description of Jambudvipa)

1513

Northwestern India, Rajasthan, Marwar, Mandore

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