The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 10, 2024

Seven Leaves from a Manuscript of the Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array)

Seven Leaves from a Manuscript of the Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array)

1000s-1100s
Gum tempera and ink on palm leaves
Overall: 4.2 x 52.4 cm (1 5/8 x 20 5/8 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1955.49
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Russian artist Svyatoslav Roerich (1904–1993) collected 144 pages of this manuscript in India.

Description

These pages come from a long horizontal book of 355 palm leaves, now dispersed among many collections. Featuring the pilgrim Sudhana on his quest to reach enlightenment, the text was especially influential in the spread of Buddhism to East Asia. These leaves are from the sole surviving illustrated manuscript of this text in its original language of Sanskrit.
  • ?–1955
    (Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1955–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 752 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 233 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 233 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 296 archive.org
    Mace, Sonya Rhie. “Clearing the Course: Folio 348 of the Nepalese Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra in the Cleveland Museum of Art.” Religions 2020, 11(4), 183. Reproduced: Figs. 1-7, 9-11, 13-15, 17 doi.org
  • Text and Image in Southern Asia​ (Indian Painting and Himalayan rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26, 2022-March 5, 2023).
    Himalayan Gallery 237 Rotation – November 2016-April 2017. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 7, 2016-April 10, 2017). [only the following leaves: 1955.49.1.a, 1955.49.2.a, 1955.49.3.a, 1955.49.4.a, and 1955.49.6.a]
  • {{cite web|title=Seven Leaves from a Manuscript of the Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array)|url=false|author=|year=1000s-1100s|access-date=10 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1955.49