Top cover, 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

Top cover, 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)) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Pieces of paper, sandalwood paste, vermilion powder, and spices like turmeric and saffron were ritually added to the top cover of this manuscript during its veneration in ceremonies honoring the Buddha’s teachings. Additionally, this wooden cover would have protected the fragile palm-leaf pages inside. A cord attached to a peg on the left side of the cover would have passed through the two binding holes and wrapped around the manuscript in order to evenly exert pressure and keep the leaves tight. The entire volume would have also been wrapped in cloth to further protect it from the elements and insect damage. Books in this format are very portable, as evidenced by the manuscript’s northward journey from the Vikramashila Monastery in eastern India to the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal.

Object facts

• Title: Top cover, from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
• Date: Sunday, September 14, 1119 (year 239 of the Newar Samvat in the month of Ashvina)
• Culture: Eastern India, Bihar, Vikramashila Monastery. Paintings: Nepal, Kathmandu
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Covers: Gum tempera, colors, and paper on wood; pages: gum tempera and ink on palm leaves
• Dimensions: Covers overall: 6.5 x 57 x 1.5 cm (2 9/16 x 22 7/16 x 9/16 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art - Medieval
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1938.301.a

A detail from the museum

Wooden covers of pothi manuscripts are called patli.

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Kramrisch, Stella. The Art of Nepal. New York: The Asia Society/Abrams, 1964.
• Lee, Sherman E. A History of Far Eastern Art. New York: H. N. Abrams, 1994. 5th edition.
• Hickmann, Regina, Heinz Mode, and Siegfried Mahn. Miniaturen, Volks- und Gegenwartskunst Indiens. Leipzig: E.A. Seemann Buch und Kunstverlag, 1975.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.