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Fragmentary Leaf from an Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra

12th century
Not on view
This painting depicts the personification of the wisdom text Prajnaparamita. She is represented in six-armed form, the central hands are held over the heart in a variation of the dharmacakramudra, whilst her upper hands display the sacred book (pustaka) and the thunderbolt scepter (vajra), whilst her lower hands hold a rosary (mala) and gesture boon granting. She wears golden jewelry on her body and a tripartite diadem adorns herhead, which is framed by a red halo. A girdle, seemingly of strings of pearls, secures her waistcloth, beautifully decorated with large red rosettes in blue hexagonal frames. Slender ribbons fly through the air, one supporting a blue lotus bloom and stem. She is seated in a mediation posture, enthroned on a golden lotus and she is encircled in a rainbow colored nimbus. Particularly noteworthy is the tonal modelling of the bodily forms, heightened with finely controlled orange-red lines. The swelling breasts and constricted waist are hallmarks of the Kashmir style.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Fragmentary Leaf from an Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra
  • Artist: Unidentified Artist, Kashmiri
  • Date: 12th century
  • Culture: Kashmir or western Tibet
  • Medium: Gold, lapis lazuli, cinnabar, indigo, and orpiment pigments and black ink on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 8 1/16 × 6 1/2 in. (20.5 × 16.5 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Chino Franco Roncoroni, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2020
  • Object Number: 2020.74.2
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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