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Reliquary and Printed Konpon Darani Text

A work made of wood with traces of white slip; ink on paper with gold repairs.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of wood with traces of white slip; ink on paper with gold repairs.

Date:

Nara period (710–794), c. 770

Artist:

Artist unknown
Japan

About this artwork

The miniature wooden reliquary displayed here is actually in the shape of a pagoda, or sacred tower. It is one of a set of a million such reliquaries made by the order of Empress Shôtoku (718-770), and therefore, the set is known as the Hyakumantô (one million pagodas). It is believed that the empress ordered these pagodas to be made as a prayer for peace after a violent rebellion in 764.
These reliquaries each held short prayers (darani) of printed text taken from sutras, or sacred writings. A hole was carved into the wooden body of the pagoda to house the rolled-up text, and the ornamental crown acts as a plug. The darani text that was contained in this pagoda, and others like it, are among the oldest printed texts in existence.
This pagoda was acquired before 1917 in Japan by Louise Norton Brown, an avid collector of Japanese printed material. Her collection was acquired by Martin Ryerson, who in turn gave it to the Art Institute.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Asia

Title

Reliquary and Printed Konpon Darani Text

Place

Japan (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

765 CE–775 CE

Medium

Wood with traces of white slip; ink on paper with gold repairs

Credit Line

Gift of Martin A. Ryerson

Reference Number

24574 (1-1-01)

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/137755/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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