This pair of sutra covers was made for an edition of the Tibetan Buddhist canon produced in Beijing at the order of the emperor in 1410. A triple flaming jewel is flanked by four of the Eight Buddhist Treasures. Unlike Chinese texts, which were either in scroll or accordion-fold-book format, Tibetan texts were formatted as stacks of horizontal, loose-leaf sheets that would have fit between these covers.
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明永樂 紅漆戧金 《佛名經》 夾經板
Title:Sutra Covers with the Eight Buddhist Treasures
Period:Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Yongle period (1403–24)
Culture:China
Medium:Red lacquer with incised decoration inlaid with gold
Dimensions:L. 28 1/2 in. (72.4 cm); W. 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm); H. of each cover 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm)
Classification:Lacquer
Credit Line:Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015
Accession Number:2015.500.1.52a, b
[ J. J. Lally & Co. , New York, until 1990; sold to Irving]; Florence and Herbert Irving , New York (1990–2015; donated to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "East Asian Lacquer from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection," November 22, 1991–February 23, 1992.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Irving Lacquers," 1998–2000.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Defining Yongle, Imperial Art in Early Fifteenth-Century China," April 1–July 10, 2005.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Lacquer," July 18–November 14, 2005.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Asian Lacquer: Masterpieces from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection," November 3, 2007–May 11, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cinnabar: The Chinese Art of Carved Lacquer," August 6, 2009–February 21, 2010.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Sumptuous: East Asian Lacquer, 14th–20th Century," October 25, 2014–August 9, 2015.
New York. Rubin Museum of Art. "Faith and Empire," February 1–July 15, 2019.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Another World Lies Beyond: Chinese Art and the Divine," August 24, 2019–January 5, 2020.
Watt, James C. Y., and Barbara Brennan Ford. East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991, pp. 116–118, cat. no. 49.
Watt, James C. Y., and Denise Patry Leidy. Defining Yongle: Imperial Art in Early Fifteenth-Century China. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005, pp. 55–57, pl. 22.
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