Artwork Page for Leaf from a Buddhist Manuscript (recto)

Details / Information for Leaf from a Buddhist Manuscript (recto)

Leaf from a Buddhist Manuscript (recto)

c. 1700

Sri Lanka, Singhalese, Late 17th century

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Medium
fiber paper
Measurements
Overall: 6.4 cm (2 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Educational Purchase Fund 1949.227.2.a
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

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.
A horizontally oriented fiber paper manuscript is marked with six rows of flowing, black handwritten script. The tan, fibrous surface shows a horizontal wood-like grain and uneven edges. Near the center, two small circular holes are punched through the material, each framed by a faint red hand-drawn ring. Small red marks and horizontal dashes are interspersed within the script.

Leaf from a Buddhist Manuscript (recto)

c. 1700

Sri Lanka, Singhalese, Late 17th century

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