Section of Avatamsaka Sutra: the Nigatsudō Burnt Sutra
Tōdaiji Scriptorium, Section of Avatamsaka Sutra: the Nigatsudō Burnt Sutra, 744, handscroll fragment mounted as a hanging scroll; silver ink on indigo-dyed paper, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, public domain, 2018.76.1
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
Section of Avatamsaka Sutra: the Nigatsudō Burnt Sutra
- Related Titles
original language: 大方広佛華厳経断簡:二月堂焼経
- Artist
- Date
744
- Period
Japan: Nara period (710-794 CE)
- Medium
handscroll fragment mounted as a hanging scroll; silver ink on indigo-dyed paper
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
calligraphy: 9 3/16 in x 43 3/4 in; mounting: 33 7/16 in x 46 3/16 in
- Collection Area
Asian Art
- Category
Calligraphy
- Object Type
hanging scroll
- Culture
Japanese
- Credit Line
Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles
- Accession Number
2018.76.1
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
From Poetic Imagination in Japanese Art: Selections from the Collection of Mary and Cheney Cowles
This fragment was created as part of a set of sixty scrolls of the Flower Garland Sutra (J. Kegon-kyō). With its eloquent descriptions of a radiant, mystical universe presided over by the cosmic Buddha Vairocana, this influential text inspired massive architectural and sculptural monuments throughout Asia in the seventh and eighth centuries. Among them was Tōdaiji in Nara, Japan, established in the 740s as the headquarters for a countrywide system of Buddhist monasteries and convents.
The Tōdaiji Flower Garland Sutra scrolls were created for use in periodic rituals held in the temple’s Nigatsudō (Second Month Hall). In 1667, a fire badly damaged the set, leaving only twenty scrolls in fragmentary condition. Surviving portions, now known as the Nigatsudō Burned Sutras, are divided among Tōdaiji and museums and private collections in Japan; only a few fragments have found their way to North America.
The Nigatsudō Burned Sutras are the earliest Japanese religious texts to be executed in deluxe materials. The paper was dyed indigo blue and the text written in ink made from pure silver. The extravagance of the materials and the solemn, measured calligraphy fit the sacred nature of the text. The ragged, scorched lower edge of the scroll has turned a rusty red, eerily evoking the heat of the flames. Here, a mounting by contemporary artist Sugimoto Hiroshi further enhances the beauty of the burned paper.
- Exhibitions
2018 Poetic Imagination in Japanese Art: Selections from the Collection of Mary and Cheney Cowles Portland Art Museum