[INDOLOGY] rubrication in Indian mss.

[Patrick Olivelle]

I wonder whether this may have something to do with the preparation of the palm leaves for either writing with a stylus or with pen and ink. The Southern mss were of the former type, and any pigment applied to it will erase off except in the incisions made by the stylus. The ones used in the north were often of the latter type. I have seen both types coming from Nepal. The palm leaves intended for ink would of course take any other pigment applied to it as well.

Patrick



On Nov 22, 2015, at 3:28 AM, Philipp Maas <philipp.a.maas at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thank you, Michael, for this example for rubrication on palm leaf. Are you, or is anybody else, aware of rubrication also on palm leaf mss. from South India?
> 
> Philipp
> 
> Am 22.11.2015 10:20 schrieb "Michael Slouber" <Michael.Slouber at wwu.edu>:
> Rubrication is used on palm leaf manuscripts in Nepal from as early as the 9th century.  I confirmed this with photos of the Suśrutasaṃhitā manuscript. 
> 
> (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/kathmandu/about-this-office/single-view/news/two_manuscripts_from_nepal_now_in_unescos_prestigious_memory_of_the_world_register) 
> 
> ––
> Michael Slouber
> Assistant Professor of South Asia
> Department of Liberal Studies
> Western Washington University
> 
> 
> 
>> On २०१५ नोभेम्बर २२, at १:०७ पूर्वाह्न, philipp.a.maas <philipp.a.maas at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> As far as the Sanskrit mss. are concerned that I have worked with, rubrication exclusively occurs in paper mss. Could it be possible that rubrication was introduced in South Asia along with the use of paper as a writing material?
>> 
>> Best wishes,
>> Philipp
>> 
>> Enviado através de Huawei Mobile
>> 
>> 
>> -------- Originalnachricht --------
>> Betreff: Re: [INDOLOGY] rubrication in Indian mss.
>> Von: Matthew Kapstein 
>> An: Dan Lusthaus 
>> Cc: Indology 
>> 
>> 
>> Thanks, Dan,
>> 
>> I am quite aware of Chinese, Tibetan and medieval Western rubrication, as well as late Indian materials.
>> My query, though, specifically concerns early examples in Indian manuscripts.
>> 
>> thanks anyway,
>> Matthew
>> 
>> Matthew Kapstein
>> Directeur d'études,
>> Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes
>> 
>> Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies,
>> The University of Chicago
>> 
>> ________________________________________
>> From: Dan Lusthaus [yogacara at gmail.com]
>> Sent: Sunday, November 22, 2015 2:18 AM
>> To: Matthew Kapstein
>> Cc: Indology
>> Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] rubrication in Indian mss.
>> 
>> Dear Matthew,
>> 
>> Red writing mixed in with ordinary black ink passages already is found in Chinese mss. in Dunhuang, some perhaps dating from as early as the fifth or sixth century (though not necessarily to mark headings -- its function and purpose is a bit more mysterious). The Dunhuang ms. site http://idp.bl.uk/ has online facsimiles of some, but I haven't time now to locate specific examples (and usually the urls are temporary so they are useless in emails -- one would have to identify text numbers, etc. and do a search text by text; perhaps someone who has that corpus closer to their fingertips than I do can guide you where to look). While I don't recall offhand any Indian texts there with similar features, it is likely that the practice was being transferred across cultures.
>> 
>> Someone who had been very interested in this is Toru Funayama. I don't recall if he ever published anything on it.
>> 
>> If you can't find any of those, let me know, and I will try to find some time to do a red-ink hunt on the Dunhuang site. Somewhere I may have notes compiled from years ago.
>> 
>> best,
>> Dan
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Matthew Kapstein
>> Subject: [INDOLOGY] rubrication in Indian mss.
>> 
>> Dear colleagues,
>> 
>> When do we first see rubrication in Indian manuscripts? And can you send me any links to
>> images of early examples? Of course, vermilion was known and used in many contexts,
>> but here I am particularly interested in its use in writing.
>> 
>> with thanks in advance,
>> Matthew
>> 
>> Matthew Kapstein
>> 
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