Lot Essay
For another example of the same sutra see Roger Goepper, et al., eds. Kunstchatze aus Korea (Köln and Hamburg: Museum fur Ostasiatische Kunst der Stadt Köln und Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, 1984), no. 219
During the Koryo Dynasty Buddhism was patronized by the royal family and the transcription of ornamental luxury versions of the Tripitaka, the complete Buddhist canon, was undertaken in workshops sponsored by the government. Koryo copyists of sutras were esteemed also at the Chinese court and groups of Korean monk-scribes regularly spent a year at the invitation of the Yuan emperor transcribing the Tripitaka in the Chinese capital. Koryo sutras have several distinguishing characteristics. The paper is heavier and more durable than that used in China or Japan and is stiffer to the touch. The color of the paper is rich blue-black, known in Japan by a soubriquet, mayazumi (eyebrow blackener). The text is written in six lines per page with spacious margins, the top wider. Gold pigment has been buffed with ivory or buffalo horn to make it glisten. These features grace the text, rendered in formal Chinese script, with a distinct dignity and balance.
During the Koryo Dynasty Buddhism was patronized by the royal family and the transcription of ornamental luxury versions of the Tripitaka, the complete Buddhist canon, was undertaken in workshops sponsored by the government. Koryo copyists of sutras were esteemed also at the Chinese court and groups of Korean monk-scribes regularly spent a year at the invitation of the Yuan emperor transcribing the Tripitaka in the Chinese capital. Koryo sutras have several distinguishing characteristics. The paper is heavier and more durable than that used in China or Japan and is stiffer to the touch. The color of the paper is rich blue-black, known in Japan by a soubriquet, mayazumi (eyebrow blackener). The text is written in six lines per page with spacious margins, the top wider. Gold pigment has been buffed with ivory or buffalo horn to make it glisten. These features grace the text, rendered in formal Chinese script, with a distinct dignity and balance.