Buddhist reliquary
14th century
Object PlaceKorea
Medium/TechniqueSilver and parcel gilt and repousse decoration
DimensionsStupa: H. 22.2 cm (8 3/4 in.), w. of Base: 12.1 cm (4 3/4 in.)
Miniature stupas: H. 5 cm (1 15/16 in.), w. of base: 3 cm (1 3/16 in.)
Miniature stupas: H. 5 cm (1 15/16 in.), w. of base: 3 cm (1 3/16 in.)
Credit LineCharles Goddard Weld Collection, by exchange
Accession number39.591a-f
On View
On viewClassificationsRitual objects
Collections
ProvenancePossibly from Hoeamsa temple, South Korea or Hwajangsa temple, North Korea. 1939, Yamanaka and Company, Boston; 1939, sold (by exchange) by Yamanaka to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 8, 1939)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
In January 2009, the MFA received a request from the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism for the return of this reliquary on the basis of its religious significance. Recognizing that its contents, the sarira – bronze and glass fragments, which are symbolic remains of the monks Naong and Jigong – hold religious significance, the MFA considered returning the contents and retaining the reliquary itself, which had been legally acquired from a Boston dealer in 1939. The museum was advised by various Korean museums and government officials, including the Korean National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, not to separate the reliquary from its contents. The reliquary, with the sarira inside, remains in the MFA’s possession and is on view in the Korean galleries.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
In January 2009, the MFA received a request from the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism for the return of this reliquary on the basis of its religious significance. Recognizing that its contents, the sarira – bronze and glass fragments, which are symbolic remains of the monks Naong and Jigong – hold religious significance, the MFA considered returning the contents and retaining the reliquary itself, which had been legally acquired from a Boston dealer in 1939. The museum was advised by various Korean museums and government officials, including the Korean National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, not to separate the reliquary from its contents. The reliquary, with the sarira inside, remains in the MFA’s possession and is on view in the Korean galleries.
12th–13th century
late 10th–early 11th century
12th–13th century
about 10th–11th century A.D.
12th century
12th century
8th century A.D.
about A.D. 700
9th century A.D.
Mid 7th–8th century A.D.
16th century
1790–91