The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 1, 2023

Fragment Mounted as a Box Cover with a Scene from Amida's Paradise

阿弥陀仏浄土蒔絵手箱

1100s

Japan, Heian period

(794–1185)

Gold lacquer on wood

Overall: 2.6 x 7.8 cm (1 x 3 1/16 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 1961.91

Location

not on view

Description

The lid of this box has a fragment of an image representing the Pure Land of the Buddha Amida, and an interior decorated with lotus petals. The original, complete composition may have been a panel housed within a shrine cabinet, and used for meditation. An aversion to discarding sacred images likely led to the fragment’s incorporation into this small box.

Provenance
?-1961
(Howard C. Hollis [1899-1985], Cleveland, OH, ?-1961, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1961-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 1961-present
Citations
Lee, Sherman E. Japanese Decorative Style. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1961. Reproduced: p. 14; mentioned: p.15; cat.no. 6 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 274 archive.org
Rosenfield, John M. Japanese Arts of the Heian Period, 794-1185. [New York]: Asia Society, 1967. Reproduced: pp. 73 and 117, cat. no. 28
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 274 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 370 archive.org
Exhibition history

Japanese Arts of the Heian Period: 794-1185. Asia House Gallery, New York City, NY (October 5-December 17, 1967) and Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (January 17-February 25, 1968).

Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 236). The Cleveland Museum of Art, OH (June 13, 2013-December 20, 2013)

Japanese Decorative Style. The Cleveland Museum of Art (August 30-October 15, 1961); The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (November 9-December 17, 1961).

Year in Review (1961). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 1-26, 1961).

Japanese Arts of the Heian Period. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (October 5, 1967-February 19, 1968); Fogg Art Museum/Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (January 17-February 25, 1968).

Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1961.91