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Sarira Reliquary
은제도금라마탑형사리구, 銀製鍍金喇마塔形舍利具
Buddhist reliquary
Sarira Reliquary
은제도금라마탑형사리구, 銀製鍍金喇마塔形舍利具
Korean
Goryeo dynasty
14th century
Object Place: Korea
Medium/Technique
Silver and parcel gilt and repousse decoration
Dimensions
Stupa: H. 22.2 cm (8 3/4 in.), w. of Base: 12.1 cm (4 3/4 in.)
Miniature stupas: H. 5 cm (1 15/16 in.), w. of base: 3 cm (1 3/16 in.)
Miniature stupas: H. 5 cm (1 15/16 in.), w. of base: 3 cm (1 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds by exchange from the Charles Goddard Weld Collection
Accession Number39.591a-f
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsRitual objects
Catalogue Raisonné
MFA Highlights: Arts of Korea (2012), p. 55
ProvenancePossibly from Hoeamsa temple, South Korea or Hwajangsa temple, North Korea. 1939, Yamanaka and Company, Boston; 1939, sold (by exchange) by Yamanaka to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 8, 1939)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
In April 2024, the MFA donated to the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism a group of sarira (relics) that had been contained inside this reliquary. The three bronze and glass spheres and other fragmentary material are symbolic remains of Buddha Shakyamuni, Kassapa Buddha and Dipamkara Buddha, as well as the Buddhist monks Naong (1320–1376) and Jigong (d. 1363).
The Jogye Order first contacted the MFA in 2009 to request the return of the reliquary with the sarira inside. There is no indication that the reliquary was ever stolen, looted, or forcibly sold, and there is no reason to remove it from the collection. Understanding the religious significance of the sarira, however, and acknowledging that they are not essential to the mission of the museum, the MFA offered to transfer the sarira alone. The agreement reached in 2024 confirms the MFA’s voluntary donation of the sarira to the Order. The reliquary remains in the Museum’s collection.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
In April 2024, the MFA donated to the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism a group of sarira (relics) that had been contained inside this reliquary. The three bronze and glass spheres and other fragmentary material are symbolic remains of Buddha Shakyamuni, Kassapa Buddha and Dipamkara Buddha, as well as the Buddhist monks Naong (1320–1376) and Jigong (d. 1363).
The Jogye Order first contacted the MFA in 2009 to request the return of the reliquary with the sarira inside. There is no indication that the reliquary was ever stolen, looted, or forcibly sold, and there is no reason to remove it from the collection. Understanding the religious significance of the sarira, however, and acknowledging that they are not essential to the mission of the museum, the MFA offered to transfer the sarira alone. The agreement reached in 2024 confirms the MFA’s voluntary donation of the sarira to the Order. The reliquary remains in the Museum’s collection.