Artwork Page for Prajnaparamita flanked by two bodhisattvas, folio 187 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)

Details / Information for Prajnaparamita flanked by two bodhisattvas, folio 187 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)

Prajnaparamita flanked by two bodhisattvas, folio 187 (recto), 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: 5.3 x 54.3 cm (2 1/16 x 21 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1938.301.187.a
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

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.
A horizontally long palm leaf manuscript features gum tempera and ink paintings of three seated deities separated by blocks of black Indic script. On the left, a bodhisattva with a medium skin tone sits within a red and blue frame. Centered, Prajnaparamita rests on a lotus throne before a white halo. To the right, a bodhisattva with a light skin tone sits within a circular red halo. Two binding holes punctuate the tan leaf.

Prajnaparamita flanked by two bodhisattvas, folio 187 (recto), 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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