Fragment of Vol. 157 of Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom (Mahaprajnaparamita sutra; Daihannyaharamittakyō)
A Korean woodblock printed fragment from a Buddhist sutra of 1383, a Mahaprajnaparamita volume, likely made by monastic printers for devotional use within a temple community. The two pictures show a large frontispiece-style print of a seated Buddha at centre, surrounded by bodhisattvas, attendants and guardian figures in dense crowded rows of fine black line on yellowed paper. A designer might take from them the rhythm of symmetrical, tightly packed figure groups and the calligraphic precision of early printed line work.
