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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2014.161
Title
Five-Prong Vajra (Gokosho), or Buddhist Thunderbolt
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Gokosho (Vajra)
Classification
Ritual Implements
Work Type
vajra
Date
12th century
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, Japan
Period
Heian period, Late, 898-1185
Culture
Japanese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/59904

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Gilt bronze
Dimensions
L. 17.6 x W. 3.8 x D. 3.8 cm (6 15/16 x 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[London Gallery, Tokyo, (by 2002)], sold; to Sylvan Barnet and William Burto, Cambridge, MA, (2002-2014), gift from Sylvan Barnet and bequest from William Burto; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2014.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Sylvan Barnet and William Burto in honor of Judith Dowling and John Dowling
Accession Year
2014
Object Number
2014.161
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Nara National Museum, Mikkyo hôgu, Rinsen Shoten (Kyoto, Japan, 1993), cat. 112
  • London Gallery, Ltd. and Ôkura Shûkokan, Buddha's Smile: Masterpieces of Japanese Buddhist Art, exh. cat., London Gallery, Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan, 2000), p. 144, cat. 80
  • Japanese and Korean Paintings and Works of Art, auct. cat. (New York, 2002), p. 25, cat. 9
  • Sylvan Barnet and William Burto, "Thinking about Buddhist Ritual Objects", Orientations, Orientations Magazine Ltd. (Hong Kong, January/February 2004), vol. 35, no. 1, p. 67
  • Words and Things: Buddhist Texts and Ritual Objects from Japan, brochure, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (2013-2014), n.p.

Exhibition History

  • Marks of Enlightenment, Traces of Devotion: Japanese Calligraphy and Painting from the Sylvan Barnet and William Burto Collection, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 12/23/2004 - 04/17/2005

Verification Level

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