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Four Leaves from an Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita Manuscript

About 1151-1200

India, Bihar or Bengal

Ink and opaque watercolor on palm leaf

Each H. 3 x W. 17 1/4 in. (7.6 x 43.8 cm)

Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.53.1-4

Provenance

John D. Rockefeller 3rd, New York, NY; acquired from The Heeramaneck Gallery, New York, NY, 1970.

The Asia Society, New York, NY, bequest of John D. Rockefeller 3rd, 1979.

Licensing inquiries

Before the use of paper became widespread in India, manuscripts were usually produced on leaves from a type of palm tree. The pages, originally stacked on top of each other, were strung together with a cord. This manuscript not only has images enhancing the central part of each leaf, but also has decoration at the ends of the leaves and surrounding the string holes. As is generally true in manuscripts of this type, the illustrations do not relate directly to the text, which is primarily a philosophical treatise on the nature of wisdom and compassion. The deities depicted are, from top to bottom, the bodhisattva Manjushri, the goddess Prajnaparamita, the goddess Tara, and a wrathful Dharmapala, literally a "protector of the Buddhist doctrine."