Volume 40 of the Garland Sutra from the "Lost" Kuan Tsang Triptaka, 14th century

Unknown artist, expand_more
Not on Viewexpand_more

This scroll's unique format (seven half-pages per woodblock) assigns it to the Kuan Tsang, the government-sponsored triptaka (Buddhist text) of the Yuan dynasty (1280-1368). Prior to the discovery of this series, scholars had assumed that the Yuan government had never commissioned the carving of Buddhist sutras on a grand scale. The discovery of the Kuan Tsang sequence in 1979 by staff of the Yunnan Provincial Library was of incalculable significance to the study of early Chinese printing.

This scroll contains the fortieth chapter of the Garland Sutra. One of the most important tantric texts, it concerns the Buddha's quest for truth and was translated into Chinese around 700 CE. A frontispiece, carved with careful devotion to detail, a printed colophon wishing long life and prosperity to the emperor, and an illustrated end-piece are likely Ming dynasty (15th century) additions as the calligraphy is in a more cursive type than that of the main text, which is done in beautifully proportioned Yan style.

printshare
arrow_back home
Details
Title
Volume 40 of the Garland Sutra from the "Lost" Kuan Tsang Triptaka
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2001.75.6
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know

Zoom in on the left to the detail you'd like to save. Click 'Save detail' and wait until the image updates. Right click the image to 'save image as' or copy link, or click the image to open in a new tab.

No Image Available