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Source Description
In premodern Burma, lay people commissioned lavishly ornamented manuscripts for ceremonial occasions, when officiants would read aloud from the text. Written in black lacquer, the text is in the language of Pali written in a Burmese script. It contains ordination rites and procedures for monastic ceremonies.<br> <br>The second to last page is covered with intricately drawn, winged celestial beings (<em>nats</em>) in gestures of praise. They fly amid intertwining vegetation—denoting bounty—that grows from serpentine forms that refer to rain clouds. Lionlike forms inhabit the space with them. The top and bottom covers are equally ornamented with jeweled floral patterning.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
680883
label
Text, folio 13 (recto) from a Kammavacha: Buddhist ordination text
core
obj
dtoType
manuscript
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
680883
contentType
manuscript
title
Text, folio 13 (recto) from a Kammavacha: Buddhist ordination text
description
In premodern Burma, lay people commissioned lavishly ornamented manuscripts for ceremonial occasions, when officiants would read aloud from the text. Written in black lacquer, the text is in the language of Pali written in a Burmese script. It contains ordination rites and procedures for monastic ceremonies.<br> <br>The second to last page is covered with intricately drawn, winged celestial beings (<em>nats</em>) in gestures of praise. They fly amid intertwining vegetation—denoting bounty—that grows from serpentine forms that refer to rain clouds. Lionlike forms inhabit the space with them. The top and bottom covers are equally ornamented with jeweled floral patterning.
date
1800s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q127783960
genreSpecific
Manuscript
imageCount
1
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
tombstone
Text, folio 13 (recto) from a Kammavacha: Buddhist ordination text, 1800s. Myanmar (Burma). Leaf: lacquer and gilding on cloth; leaf: 12.8 x 56.1 cm (5 1/16 x 22 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Edward L. Whittemore Fund, 1945.172.13.a
collection
Burmese Art
dimensions
didYouKnow
The Pali text of this manuscript is written in Burmese square script, which is also known as "tamarind seed script."
creditline
Edward L. Whittemore Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 09:17:42.836000
sourceId
680883
tec
Leaf: lacquer and gilding on cloth
dept
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
coll
Burmese Art
cul
Myanmar (Burma)
med
Leaf: lacquer and gilding on cloth
accession
1945.172.13.a
thumbnail_url
image_url
dimensionsRaw
Leaf: 12.8 x 56.1 cm (5 1/16 x 22 1/16 in.)
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
44084d3bf3d0e5f5