Section of Chapter 17 from the "Ten Practices" Volume of the Flower Ornament Sutra (J: Daihōkōbutsu kegonkyō; Skt: Avatamsaka-sutra)
second half 11th century
Description
This sutra fragment (mounted as a hanging scroll) is a remnant of a set thought to have been originally dedicated to the temple Senpukuji in Osaka. The text comes from the Flower Ornament Sutra (Avatamsaka sutra in Sanskrit, Daihōkōbutsu kegonkyō in Japanese), a Buddhist text that arrived in Japan during the Nara period (710-784). The sutra’s lessons of universal unity personified by the Cosmic Buddha Vairochana proved essential to the Nara court’s establishment of Buddhism as Japan’s state religion. At some point in the past the sutra was damaged in a fire, which scorched its edges but left much of the text and decorated paper intact. The paper is dyed with indigo to a light blue color and decorated with scattered flakes of gold leaf. Gold pigment was used to create the delicate guidelines within which the text was inscribed in ink. Based on the paper decoration and manner of calligraphy, which is written in evenly spaced, horizontally balanced characters, scorched Senpukuji sutras such as this are considered masterpieces of devotional art from the second half of the 11th century.
Dimensions
sutra fragment: H. 22.8 x W. 51.4 cm (9 x 20 1/4 in.) silk mounting only: H. 105.9 x W. 52.8 cm (41 11/16 x 20 13/16 in.) full mounting, including cord and roller ends: H. 111 x W. 57.2 cm (43 11/16 x 22 1/2 in.)
Provenance
[London Gallery, Ltd., Tokyo (by 1999)], sold; to the Harvard Art Museums 2015.
Related Artworks
View More7th of a set of 54 thread-bound books; ink on paper
17th-18th centuryJapanese38th of a set of 54 thread-bound books; ink on paper
17th-18th centuryJapaneseInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
19th centuryPersianHandscroll; ink on dyed, gold-leaf sprinkled paper
ChineseHanging scroll; ink on paper
JapaneseInk on paper mounted on wood panel
17th-18th centuryOttomanEight-panel folding screen; ink on paper; with three seals of the artist and one collector's seal
18th centuryKoreanThe fortieth of a series of 54 kotobagaki (calligraphic album leaves) mounted in an album with illustrations; ink and color on paper
16th centuryJapaneseHandscroll; ink on paper with designs in gold
17th centuryJapaneseThree handscrolls; ink on paper; punctuation: light red dots; reciting: dark red
10th-12th centuryJapanese4th of 5 thread-bound books; ink, gold and silver on paper; some colored paper
16th-17th centuryJapaneseOne of a pair of hanging scrolls now mounted as the third and fourth panels of a ten-panel folding screen; ink on paper decorated with seven dragon-and-pearl roundels interspersed with designs of flying bats and scrolling clouds, the decorations all painted in ink; with signature reading "Sŏk-ch'on Cho-su"; with two seals of the artist reading "Yun Yong Ku In" and "Yŏk Su Hŏn"
19th-20th centuryKorean