Avatamsaka Sutra No. 78 (1300s): Art, History and Details

Avatamsaka Sutra No. 78 (1300s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This illuminated manuscript presents one part of the multivolume sacred text titled Avatamsaka (Flower Garland) sutra. Both the script and the image are rendered in gold ink on the smooth surface of the dark blue, indigo-dyed mulberry paper. This portion of the text, which reads from right to left, describes the encounter of the Buddha of the Future (Maitreya) and the young pilgrim Sudhana. The Buddha gives his words of wisdom to Sudhana, who asks questions about the path toward spiritual awakening. Mixed with ink and glue, the gold has a brilliance that strikingly reflects Sudhana’s ardent quest for understanding the way to reach enlightenment.

Object facts

• Title: Avatamsaka Sutra No. 78
• Date: 1300s
• Culture: Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
• Type: Bound Volume
• Technique: Folded book with illustrated frontispiece; gold and silver on mulberry paper
• Dimensions: Book: 20.6 x 43.7 cm (8 1/8 x 17 3/16 in.); Each page: 20.7 x 11 cm (8 1/8 x 4 5/16 in.)
• Collection: Korean Art
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 1994.25

A detail from the museum

The pristine condition of this manuscript indicates that it was rarely used after its creation, revealing that the act of making a manuscript rather than reading it was the main religious goal.

Collection credit

The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lee, Ji Kwan. "Position of the Avatamsaka - sutra in Korean Buddhism [한국불교에 있어 화엄경의 위치: 각판유통을 (刻板流通) 중심으로]." Bulgyohakbo 20 (September 1983): 11-43.
• Hwang, Su-young. “A Study on Goryeo Buddhist Sutra [高麗寫經의 硏究].” Gogo misul (1988): 51-67.
• Cunningham, Michael R., "Reflective Golden Brushwork." The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine (1995, Summer): 8-9.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.