Sutra Box

Also titled Soetra doos

anonymous

c. 1200 - c. 1400

Medium
wood (plant material), lacquer (coating), silver (metal), mother of pearl
Classification
box
Dimensions
height 34 cm x width 49.5 cm x depth 27.5 cm
Museum
Rijksmuseum
Credit line
On loan from the Royal Asian Art Society in The Netherlands (purchase auction collection Mensing, 1937)
Rights
Public Domain Mark, as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed

View at the Rijksmuseum

About this work

This box was used for storing sutras, Buddhist scriptures. Such boxes were made in court workshops. The whole surface is covered with mother-of-pearl and copper-wire inlay. However, the decoration of the lower section differs from the rest, suggesting that the box was repaired and enlarged. This may have been done in Japan, where the box was purchased in the early 20th century.