The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Manuscript of the Jambudvipa-prajnapti-sutra (Description of Jambudvipa)

Manuscript of the Jambudvipa-prajnapti-sutra (Description of Jambudvipa)

1513
Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper
Overall: 12.3 x 30.6 cm (4 13/16 x 12 1/16 in.)
On Loan from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection 25.2014
Location: not on view

Description

This text discusses the geography, astronomy, and mathematics of Jambudvipa, one of the terrestrial worlds where human beings live, according to pan-Indian cosmology. The text is written in a north Indian script called Devanagari, and the language of the text is Prakrit, a regional vernacular.

Though there are only two paintings in the whole manuscript, they are made with costly pigments. Gold leaf was liberally applied, and lapis lazuli ground to a fine powder and mixed with gum arabic and water was used for the blue background. The red is cinnabar, a mercury-based mineral.
  • The Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection, Los Angeles, CA
  • 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).
    Indian Gallery 242 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (September 10, 2018-April 7, 2019).
  • {{cite web|title=Manuscript of the Jambudvipa-prajnapti-sutra (Description of Jambudvipa)|url=false|author=|year=1513|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/25.2014