Fragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folio

Fragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folio

Unidentified

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This exquisitely executed miniature painting of a seated royal donor exemplifies the unprecedented quality achieved by Kashmiri artists working on plant fiber papers. This medium, as opposed to the traditional palm-leaf folio, allowed a larger scale format and, properly sized, a new refinement of execution. It depicts a royal worshipper seated cross-legged in lalitasana, a variation of the royal ease posture, and with his hands raised in veneration, gazing reverently beyond the picture frame to the sacred text that occupied the once complete folio. Paintings such as this are firmly associated with manuscript editions of the Prajnaparamita, a Vajrayana text embodying the goddess of the same name. This famous magical text, composed largely of spells and charms (dharani), was widely reproduced, most often in its 100,000 verse edition, as an act of merit. Its recitation was understood to bring protection and material benefit to all.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folioFragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folioFragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folioFragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folioFragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folio

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.