Reliquary

12th-14th century

This rock-crystal container for holy relics takes the form of a stupa, a monument that represents the body of both the Buddha and the Buddhist practitioner. It is composed of five geometric shapes representing the five elements: the teardrop-shaped jewel at the top represents space, the hemisphere wind, the pyramid fire, the sphere water, and the square base earth.

Crystal

3 3/8 x 1 5/8 x 1 5/8 in. (8.57 x 4.13 x 4.13 cm)

Overall h.: 4 in.

Gift of Mrs. John C. Atwood, Jr.

56.247

Photo: Elizabeth Mann

Now on view at the Asian Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Documents International: Reflections in the Mirror: A World of Identity", April 23, 1998 - June 20, 1999

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "A Thousand Years of Beauty: Japanese Art in Seattle", July 16, 2001 - November 17, 2002

New York, Asia Society, Kamakura: Reality and Spirituality in the Sculpture of Japan, Feb. 9-May 8, 2016. Text by Ive Covaci. Cat. no. 40, p. 76, reproduced p. 135, endpaper.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.

Published ReferencesFuller, Richard E. "Japanese Art in the Seattle Art Museum: An Historical Sketch." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1960 ("Presented in commemoration of the Hundredth Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and the United States of America"), no. 67

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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