Words and Things: Buddhist Texts and Ritual Objects from Japan October 20, 2013–January 12, 2014
Section of “Former Affairs of King Wonderful Adornment,” from Chapter 27 of the Lotus Sutra, late 18th century, gold on purple-dyed paper with silver ruling, Sylvan Barnet and William Burto Collection.
Vajra with Engraving, no date, bronze, Sylvan Barnet and William Burto Collection.
Japanese, Section from the Flower Garland Sutra (Kegon-kyō), known as the Nigatsudō yake-kyō, 744–752, silver on indigo-dyed paper, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, promised gift of Sylvan Barnet and William Burto in honor of Malcolm Rogers. Photograph © 2013 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Pagoda 409, Tyrrhenian Sea, Priano, 1994 (detail), from the series Five Elements, 2011, optical glass with black-and-white film, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by the Friends of Asian Art, and Chris Urbanczyk, with matching funds provided by Chevron. © Hiroshi Sugimoto
Hiroshi Sugimoto, Pagoda 409, Tyrrhenian Sea, Priano, 1994, from the series Five Elements, 2011, optical glass with black-and-white film, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by the Friends of Asian Art, and Chris Urbanczyk, with matching funds provided by Chevron. © Hiroshi Sugimoto
Section of “The Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound,” with Pagoda Decoration, from Chapter 24 of the Lotus Sutra, 1163, handscroll mounted as hanging scroll, gold on indigo-dyed paper, with silver-ruled lines and gold painted decoration, Sylvan Barnet and William Burto Collection.
Finial for Monk’s Staff, 794–1185, bronze, Sylvan Barnet and William Burto Collection.
Words and Things: Buddhist Texts and Ritual Objects from Japan comprises nearly 50 objects from the private collection of Boston-based literature scholars Sylvan Barnet and William Burto, who have amassed an exceptional collection of Buddhist works from Japan. Exploring the significance of words in Buddhist practice, the exhibition features exquisite fragments of Buddhist sutras (narratives based on the life and teachings of the Buddha) written in gold and silver ink on indigo paper; 7th-century wooden pagodas; and ritual objects that include an extraordinary bamboo sutra cover, bronze sutra container, wooden reliquary, bronze vajra, and bronze finials.
Related Publication
The Written Image: Japanese Calligraphy and Painting from the Sylvan Barnet and William Burto Collection is available at the Museum's Hirsch Library.
This exhibition is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.