Artwork Page for Preaching Amitabha with Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri, folio 186 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)

Details / Information for Preaching Amitabha with Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri, folio 186 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)

Preaching Amitabha with Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri, folio 186 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)

Sunday, September 14, 1119 (year 239 of the Newar Samvat in the month of Ashvina)

Eastern India, Bihar, Vikramashila Monastery. Painting: Nepal, Kathmandu

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Medium
Gum tempera and ink on palm leaf
Measurements
Leaf: 5.5 x 54.6 cm (2 3/16 x 21 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1938.301.186.b
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

The red Buddha Amitabha is seated under a tree on a throne in the middle of the upper page; two geese—his animal emblems—perch at the top on either side. A white and red bodhisattva are 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.
A narrow palm leaf strip features gum tempera paintings and horizontal rows of black script. On our left, Avalokiteshvara sits with light skin within a red circle. Centered, Amitabha appears with light skin in red robes. Manjushri sits on our right with medium-light skin in a second red circle. Two circular holes pierce the leaf between dense blocks of text. Jagged, worn edges reveal the natural fiber of the thin material.

Preaching Amitabha with Avalokiteshvara and Manjushri, folio 186 (verso), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)

Sunday, September 14, 1119 (year 239 of the Newar Samvat in the month of Ashvina)

Eastern India, Bihar, Vikramashila Monastery. Painting: Nepal, Kathmandu

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