Artwork Page for Leaf from a Buddhist Manuscript (verso)

Details / Information for Leaf from a Buddhist Manuscript (verso)

Leaf from a Buddhist Manuscript (verso)

c. 1700

Sri Lanka, Singhalese, Late 17th century

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Medium
fiber paper
Measurements
Overall: 6.4 cm (2 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Educational Purchase Fund 1949.227.83.b
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Palm leaf material is still used for manuscripts in Sri Lanka. The palm leaves are prepared first by boiling them, drying them in the sun, and then rubbing them with oils. Scribes then use a metal stylus to incise the text. Then charcoal powder is wiped across the pages, filling in only the inscribed lines.
A horizontally oriented tan fiber leaf is inscribed with rows of dark, cursive script. Two circular holes are cut into the surface, with red pigment encircling the hole on our right and appearing as small dabs above characters throughout the text. Darkened, irregular edges reveal a fine horizontal fiber grain across the long, rectangular surface.

Leaf from a Buddhist Manuscript (verso)

c. 1700

Sri Lanka, Singhalese, Late 17th century

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