Collection Online as of January 27, 2023

Folio 94, from a Gandavyuha-sutra (Scripture of the Supreme Array): Sudhana and the Rishi Bhishmottaranirgosha (recto); Text (verso)

1000–1100s

Part of a set. See all set records

Nepal

Gum tempera and ink on palm leaf

Average: 4.2 x 52.4 cm (1 5/8 x 20 5/8 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1955.49.2

Location

237 Himalayan

Fun Fact

The name of the pilgrim Sudhana means "Good Wealth," and he wears fine clothes and a crown.

Description

The subject of the painting on this page accords with the text in another section of the manuscript. It describes the encounter of the pilgrim Sudhana with a Hindu Brahmin sage (rishi) in the forest, who had reached an enlightened state. Many of Sudhana's teachers were not Buddhist monks, but were "true friends" from many walks of life.

Provenance

?-1955

(Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1955-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 752 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 233 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 233 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 296 archive.org

Mace, Sonya Rhie. “Clearing the Course: Folio 348 of the Nepalese Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra in the Cleveland Museum of Art.” Religions 2020, 11(4), 183. Reproduced: Fig. 15 doi.org

Exhibition history

Himalayan Gallery 237 Rotation – November 2016-April 2017. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 7, 2016-April 10, 2017).