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Source Description
This manuscript is a beautiful example of a Buddhist Sutra written in Burmese script. The pages are palm leaf, and the manuscript is bound with plain lacquered wood on the top and bottom.The edges of the palm leaf pages are carefully gilded. The manuscript is bound with a tablet-woven binding tape (called sazigyo). The binding tape on this manuscript contains Burmese script, as is typical of sazigyo. Though this one has not been translated yet, typical script on a sazigyo usually gives the name of the manuscript's donor and a sutta, or excerpt, from a Buddhist text. Each Burmese manuscript should have a sazigyo, though the two are often sold separately if one is destroyed by elements or when they are purchased in the market by collectors.It is a typical example of a palm leaf manuscript in which the leaves of a palm tree are cut and dried and then the text is inscribed onto the leaf. While some palm leaf manuscripts might also be illustrated, these examples are relatively rare; this one contains only text. The completed leaves are numbered and tied together by string. The physical creation of a palm leaf manuscript is the responsibility of a monk or novice monk and the completed books are then stored in manuscript chests at the monastery. However, the patron of the book is most often a Buddhist lay person who sponsors the monk to make the book.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
87619
label
Buddhist Sutra
core
obj
dtoType
manuscript
citationUrl
pageCount
3
Source metadata
id
87619
contentType
manuscript
stage
normalized
title
Buddhist Sutra
description
This manuscript is a beautiful example of a Buddhist Sutra written in Burmese script. The pages are palm leaf, and the manuscript is bound with plain lacquered wood on the top and bottom.The edges of the palm leaf pages are carefully gilded. The manuscript is bound with a tablet-woven binding tape (called sazigyo). The binding tape on this manuscript contains Burmese script, as is typical of sazigyo. Though this one has not been translated yet, typical script on a sazigyo usually gives the name of the manuscript's donor and a sutta, or excerpt, from a Buddhist text. Each Burmese manuscript should have a sazigyo, though the two are often sold separately if one is destroyed by elements or when they are purchased in the market by collectors.It is a typical example of a palm leaf manuscript in which the leaves of a palm tree are cut and dried and then the text is inscribed onto the leaf. While some palm leaf manuscripts might also be illustrated, these examples are relatively rare; this one contains only text. The completed leaves are numbered and tied together by string. The physical creation of a palm leaf manuscript is the responsibility of a monk or novice monk and the completed books are then stored in manuscript chests at the monastery. However, the patron of the book is most often a Buddhist lay person who sponsors the monk to make the book.
provenance
Brenda Johnson, Baltimore, 1993, acquired at no cost;
date
early 20th century
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
manuscripts
imageCount
3
pageCount
3
source
import
hasTranscription
no
Source extras
dimensions
units
cm
width
13
height
50.3
depth
6.5
med
ink on palm leaves with gold edges between lacquered wooden boards, woven textile band
cul
creator_ids
16194
collection_ids
MSS
SEA
exhibition_ids
none
dimensionsRaw
Outside dimensions, H: 5 1/8 × L: 19 13/16 × W: 2 9/16 in. (13 × 50.3 × 6.5 cm)
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
46a16fa9837443ab
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
ee0ab842077fe995
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
dc8fd8760b21b727
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no