- Gallery Text
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This finely woven silk pouch was found inside the sculpture, but conflicting archival records make it difficult to determine what exactly the bag contained. It may have contained Buddha relics (2019.122.8) or a larger object, perhaps the scroll (2019.122.19). Although the scroll has no title, it is identifiable as a Buddhist text on the fundamental emptiness of reality called "Shinnyokan," attributed to the influential Buddhist cleric Genshin (942–1017). A handful of early versions of the text are known in Japan, but this scroll, dated the 27th day of the 10th month of the year 1282, is the earliest surviving manuscript copy of the work.
- Identification and Creation
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- Object Number
- 2019.122.9
- Title
- Silk Bag
- Classification
- Textile Arts
- Work Type
- textile
- Date
- Kamakura period, datable to circa 1292
- Places
- Creation Place: East Asia, Japan
- Period
- Kamakura period, 1185-1333
- Culture
- Japanese
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/210394
- Physical Descriptions
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- Medium
- Silk; twill fabric with alternate polychrome striping (yellow, pale green, brown, white) and twill-on-twill damask checkering
- Dimensions
- max. H. 18.8 x W. 12.1 cm (7 3/8 x 4 3/4 in.)
- Provenance
- [Yamanaka Shoji Co., Ltd, Awata Kyoto (1936)], sold; to Ellery Sedgwick, Beverly, MA, (1936-1960), passed; to his wife, Marjorie Russell, Beverly, MA (1960-1971), inherited; by Ellery Sedgwick, Jr., Gates Mills, Ohio, (1971-1991), inherited; by Walter Sedgwick, Woodside, CA, (1991-2019), partial and promised gift; to the Harvard Art Museums.
- Acquisition and Rights
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- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Partial and promised gift of Walter C. Sedgwick in memory of Ellery Sedgwick Sr. and Ellery Sedgwick Jr.
- Object Number
- 2019.122.9
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.
- Publication History
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John M. Rosenfield, The Sedgwick Statue of the Infant Shotoku Taishi, Archives of Asian Art (1968-1969), Vol. XXII / pp. 56-79, Fig. 15 / p. 70 (Item F / pp. 69-71)
- Exhibition History
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Later Chinese and Japanese Figure Painting in Decorative Arts, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 02/22/1992 - 06/07/1992
Paragons of Wisdom and Virtue: East Asian Figure Painting, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 02/15/1997 - 09/21/1997
Prince Shōtoku: The Secrets Within, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 05/25/2019 - 08/11/2019
- Related Works
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This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu