The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of August 3, 2026

A horizontally oriented tan fiber leaf features several rows of flowing, rounded black script. Two circular red diagrams with central holes interrupt the text, positioned on the left and right. Occasional red horizontal lines underline portions of the fading ink. The aged, fibrous surface is densely packed with characters that stretch across the narrow, rectangular page, with the diagrams providing the only major visual breaks.

Leaf from a Buddhist Manuscript (verso)

c. 1700

Sri Lanka, Singhalese, Late 17th century

fiber paper
Overall: 6.4 cm (2 1/2 in.)
Educational Purchase Fund 1949.227.41.b
Location: Not on view

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.
  • ?-–1949
    William E. Ward [1922-2004], Cleveland, OH, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1949–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Leaf from a Buddhist Manuscript (verso)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1700|access-date=03 August 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1949.227.41.b