Gold on indigo-dyed paper, with silver-rule lines and mica stamped decoration
Dimensions:
H x W (image): 29.7 × 14.1 cm (11 11/16 × 5 9/16 in)
Type:
Calligraphy
Origin:
Japan
Date:
12th century
Period:
Heian period
Provenance:
?-Probably 1925
Possibly Maeda Family Collection, Japan, method of acquisition unknown [1]
?-1998
Gogatsudō Fine Arts & Antiques, Tokyo, Japan, method of acquisition unknown [2]
1998-2013
Sylvan Barnet (1926-2016) and William Burto (1921-2013) (owned jointly), purchased from Gogatsudō Fine Arts & Antiques, Tokyo, Japan [3]
2013-2014
Sylvan Barnet and National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, bequeathed by William Burto to the Smithsonian [4]
From 2014
National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Sylvan Barnet and William Burto [5]
Notes:
[1] See object file for copy of November 23, 1998 letter fax from Sylvan Barnet and William Burto to Takeshi Ueno of Gogatsudō Fine Art & Antiques, in Tokyo, Japan. In this letter Barnet and Burto note that their bank has confirmed transfer of funds to Ueno’s bank in Japan, and Barnet and Burto request an invoice for the sutra they have purchased. Described as “Lotus Sutra, Heian Period. 7 lines, gold characters, each in a pagod, dark blue paper. Formerly Maeda Collection. Exhibited Gotoh Museum 1962; Tokyo Museum 1985.” Also in object file, see November 24, 1998 response from Takeshi Ueno via fax (fax has faded; it has been scanned and transcribed, both added to object file) to Barnet and Burto. Ueno wrote, “I have just received your check for the sutra today. Moreover, I sent you the Invoice as you instructed.” Additionally, see Miyeko Murase, et al., “The Written Image: Japanese Calligraphy and Painting from the Sylvan Barnet and William Burto Collection” [exhibition catalog] (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 1, 2002- March 2, 2003), pp. 50-51; cat. 6. The citations for this entry include an auction catalog for the Maeda family, in Tokyo 1925. See Nihon Bijutsu Kurabu “Maeda Koshaku-ke onzōki nyūsatsu mokuroku (Marquis of Maeda Collection) [auction catalog], Tokyo 1925, cat. 45. While there is a photocopy of catalog number 45 in the object file, it is illegible.
Ueno Takeshi (dates unknown) is a dealer of Asian art focusing on Japanese art, and he founded Gogatsudō Fine Arts & Antiques in Tokyo in the late 20th century. His son Akira (dates unknown) has operated the gallery, which is known as Gogatsudō Art Gallery, since about 2007.
[2] See note 1.
[3] See object file F2014.6.1-19 “Japan, Heian period, Group of Calligraphies, Gift of Sylvan Barnet and William Burto. Documents: 2004-2013” for Gift Agreement between the Smithsonian Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Sylvan Barnet and William Burto. Signed by the Director on August 9, 2004, and counter-signed by Barnet and Burto August 13, 2004. The object is described as “Lotus Sutra, chapter 3, from the Uzumasagire manuscript; ELS 2004.1.39.” Additionally, see object file for a copy of the “Will of William Burto,” signed and dated February 14, 2011, Article I, “Executor. I appoint Sylvan Barnet, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to be Executor of this will,” and Article II, “I give my art collection as follows: (1) To the Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., all of my right, title and interest, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, all copyright and associated rights, in the following works of art,” including “Lotus Sutra, chapter 3, from the Uzumasagire manuscript,” described as “Segment of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; gold and silver on indigo-dyed paper.” See also The William Burto Revocable Trust, signed and dated June 9, 2011.
Sylvan Barnet (1926-2015) and William Burto (1921-2013) were scholars of English literature and collectors of Asian art, focusing on Korean and Japanese works. The two amassed one of the finest private collections of Zen calligraphy, which featured works from the Nara through the Edo periods. As a professor of English literature at Tufts University in the early 1960s, Barnet proposed unique editions of Shakespeare plays, complete with introductions and study aids, to New American Library. The publishing house would produce “The Signet Classic Shakespeare” from 1963 to 1972. Barnet served as general editor as well as providing introductions for several plays, and these popular editions were widely adopted by universities throughout the United States.
Barnet and Burto purchased their first object, a Korean celadon bowl, in New York in 1963. Just a few years later, they purchased their first calligraphy from Nathan V. Hammer, a work by Jiun Onkō. Following William Burto’s death in 2013, his half of the collection was given to the The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Harvard Art Museums; Metropolitan Museum of Art; and the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, respectively. Before his death in 2016, Sylvan Barnet donated his half of the collection to the same institutions.
[4] See note [3], and object file F2014.6.1-19 “Japan, Heian period, Group of Calligraphies, Gift of Sylvan Barnet and William Burto. Acquisition papers,” for Deed of Gift signed by Sylvan Barnet September 24, 2014, and counter-signed by the Director October 7, 2014. In the attached object list, it is noted that Barnet is giving the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, his “50% share of ownership of: Section of “Simile and Parable,” with Pagoda Decoration, Chapter 3 of the Lotus Sutra” described as “Late Heian period, 12th century; Japan; Gold on indigo-dyed paper, with silver-rule lines and mica stamped decoration,” with the credit line “Gift of Sylvan Barnet and William Burto.” This object is part of the Museum’s Freer Gallery of Art Collection.
[5] See notes 3 and 4.
Research updated June 17, 2024
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
Words of Wisdom: Buddhist Calligraphy from Japan (April 1, 2023 to February 25, 2024)
The Power of Words in an Age of Crisis (October 14, 2017 to May 6, 2018)
Faith and Form: Selected Calligraphy and Painting from the Japanese Religious Traditions (March 20 to July 18, 2004)
The Written Image: Japanese Calligraphy and Painting from the Sylvan Barnet and William Burto Collection (October 1, 2002 to March 02, 2003)
