Artwork Page for Many-Jeweled Stupa Reliquary (Tahōtō shari yōki)

Details / Information for Many-Jeweled Stupa Reliquary (Tahōtō shari yōki)

Many-Jeweled Stupa Reliquary (Tahōtō shari yōki)

early to mid-1300s

Japan, Kamakura period

(1185–1333)
Medium
wood and metal
Measurements
Average: 68 x 34.4 cm (26 3/4 x 13 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1982.8
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

Earthen mounds that marked the sites of interred relics in ancient India are called stupas. As Buddhism traveled through East Asia, the mounds took on the form of towers called “pagodas” by Westerners. This miniature tower, painted with Buddhist deities on the interiors of the doors on each side, likely once held items considered to be sacred relics. The deities on the doors have been tentatively identified as the four bodhisattvas of the sacred text the Lotus Sutra, and two Guardian Kings known as Niō.
A wood and metal sculpture with red accents depicts a tiered tower resting on a rectangular, paneled base. Two central doors swing outward to reveal painted figures on their interiors. A dark, cylindrical body supports a wooden balcony beneath a wide, ribbed roof with small metal bells at the corners. At the top, a tall metal pole with stacked rings and a finial rises from a square pedestal.

Many-Jeweled Stupa Reliquary (Tahōtō shari yōki)

early to mid-1300s

Japan, Kamakura period (1185–1333)

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