Palm Leaf from an Unidentified Manuscript with Devanagiri (?) script

Accession Number
1997/2.41

Title
Palm Leaf from an Unidentified Manuscript with Devanagiri (?) script

Artist(s)
Indian

Artist Nationality
Indian (South Asian)

Object Creation Date
17th century

Medium & Support
incised palm-leaf darkened with coal dust

Dimensions
2 11/16 in x 11 in (6.8 cm x 28 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Professor Walter M. and Nesta R. Spink

Label copy
This page was originally part of a book. Paper came into widespread use in India in the seventeenth century, but palm leaves continued to be used for manuscripts in regions where the material was abundant, such as Gujarat and Orissa.
To produce a manuscript, palm leaves were smoothed, dried, and cut to a uniform shape. Letters were incised with a sharp tool, and then the incision was filled with charcoal dust and the surface burnished. A hole was cut in the center of the leaf to allow a sheaf to be strung together, keeping the leaves in order. Both sides of a leaf would be used, and the book would be read by flipping over pages one at a time
Exhibited in "Divine Encounters, Earthly Pleasures: Twenty Centuries of Indian Art," 12/12/03-2/22/04.

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Primary Object Type
calligraphy

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
calligraphy
manuscripts
palm tree

2 Related Resources

Art of the Mughal Empire
(Part of 3 Learning Collections)
Introduction to Manuscripts and Early Print
(Part of 2 Learning Collections)

& Author Notes

Web Use Permitted