# Sutra Box

- By: anonymous
- Date: 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
- Credit line: On loan from the Royal Asian Art Society in The Netherlands (purchase auction collection Mensing, 1937)
- Museum: [Rijksmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/AK-MAK-178--de8609663bfc25ef28698b55d20875e7)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://iiif.micr.io/cGiyS/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

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.