NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY, INSCRIBED WITH A DATE CORRESPONDING TO 980

Details

An Inscribed Pottery Sutra Pagoda
Northern Song dynasty, inscribed with a date corresponding to 980
Consisting of three sections: a broad-petaled lotus base with a waisted pedestal foot pierced on four sides with ruyi-head openings, a tall octagonal column carved with three inscriptions, and a cover formed as a tile roof with overhanging eaves, roof-braces, and rounded crosshatched underpanels surmounted by a lotus platform supporting a square pavilion with a Buddha in each archway, the top section with traces of pigment remaining
22 1/8in. (56cm.) high

Literature

S. Little, The Herzman Collection, Hong Kong, 2000, p. 23.

Lot Essay

Small stupas of this type, sometimes referred to as chuang, or 'banners', would have been used for private devotion in household settings. There are three different inscriptions on this piece. One text is a mantra from the Dacang Sutra. The second inscription is a dedication in honor of the devotee's third younger brother. The third inscription dates this piece to the Taiping era, fifth year, sixth month, eighth day, corresponding to the year 980.
A similarly inscribed chuang from the Wanfou Pagoda treasures is illustrated in Zhongguo wenwu qinghua daquan, Hong Kong, 1993, p. 350, no. 246.

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