Art Study Center Seminar: Prince Shōtoku—A View from the Inside Out

The Harvard Art Museums’ 13th-century sculpture of Prince Shōtoku, the putative founder of Buddhism in Japan, is one of the most important as well as one of the most popular objects in the Asian collections. When this hollow sculpture was opened in the mid-1930s in Boston, the body cavity was found to contain an incredible cache of devotional objects. These included miniature sculptures of protective deities, prayers, charms, and Buddhist scriptures. Their placement inside the prince animated the icon, and created a powerful karmic connection between him and the donors of these diminutive but spiritually charged objects.

This session will offer a privileged view of this sculpture from the inside out—from discussions about the recent art historical research into its contents to a technical overview of the sculpture’s physical structure. The seminar will be led by Rachel Saunders, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Associate Curator of Asian Art; Angela Chang, assistant director and conservator of objects and sculpture in the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies; and Georgina Rayner, the Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Conservation Science.

The seminar will take place in the Art Study Center, Level 4.

Free admission, but capacity is limited to 15 and registration is recommended. To register, please email am_visitorservices@harvard.edu.
 
Please arrive 15 minutes before the start of the program to allow sufficient time to sign in at the Art Study Center reception desk. Note that there is a wait list for this program; spots unclaimed by 11am will be released to those on the wait list. Please be prepared to present a photo ID.
 
Lockers are available on the Lower Level, Level 1, and Level 4 to check bags, coats, umbrellas, and any food or drink.