Artwork Page for Kalpa-sutra manuscript with 24 illuminations

Details / Information for Kalpa-sutra manuscript with 24 illuminations

Kalpa-sutra manuscript with 24 illuminations

c. 1475–1500

Western India, Gujarat

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Medium
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Measurements
Overall: 12.5 x 25.7 cm (4 15/16 x 10 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1932.119
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Though paper manuscripts would have been wrapped in cloth rather than bound with string, conservative manuscript producers located the place for the string's hole with a red dot. Dating back to at least the early centuries of the first millennium, the text is written in Sanskrit in an Indian script known as devanagari. The smaller text written in the margins is a commentary that discusses the meaning of the main text.
A horizontally oriented gum tempera manuscript page features black script rows breaking around a large red circle on the left. To the right, within a red frame, two gold-leaf figures sit cross-legged in vertical panels. The top figure rests on an ornate throne against a blue and gold background, while the bottom sits within a layered, circular design. Intricate gold patterns and red borders decorate the aged, cream-colored paper.

Kalpa-sutra manuscript with 24 illuminations

c. 1475–1500

Western India, Gujarat

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