Ink on purple-dyed paper with mica, color, gold, and silver
Dimensions:
H x W (image): 25.6 × 12.9 cm (10 1/16 × 5 1/16 in)
Type:
Calligraphy
Origin:
Japan
Date:
12th century
Period:
Late Heian period
Provenance:
?-1999
Possibly London Gallery, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, method of acquisition unknown [1]
Possibly by 1999-2013
Sylvan Barnet (1926-2016) and William Burto (1921-2013) (owned jointly), possibly purchased from London Gallery, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan [2]
2013-2014
Sylvan Barnet and National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, bequeathed by William Burto to the Smithsonian [3]
From 2014
National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Sylvan Barnet and William Burto [4]
Notes:
[1] See object file for copy of email from Yukio Lippit email to Sylvan Barnet, December 11, 1999, regarding a translation of the “Sutra of Innumerable Meanings.” At top right, a handwritten note by Sylvan says, “7 lines, mottled purple paper (from Tajima 1999).” Barnet and his partner William Burto had a long-standing relationship with Tajima Mitsuru, from whom they had acquired numerous objects via his Tokyo shop, London Gallery, Ltd. This note indicates the likelihood that Barnet and Burto had recently acquired the object from Tajima, and they had contacted Lippit for more concise information regarding the text of this sutra.
Tajima Mitsuru (born ca. 1936) is a Japanese collector and art dealer, and founder of the London Gallery in Tokyo, Japan. He opened the gallery in the late 20th century, and it specializes in the sale of art and archaeological material of Asia. In 1963, at the age of twenty-seven, Tajimatraveled to the United States and joined the collector and dealer Harry Packard on a cross-country trip, visiting museums and collectors, including Avery Brundage.
Yukio Lippit (b. 1970) is a scholar of Japanese art specializing in Japanese painting of the medieval and early modern periods. Since 2023, he is a professor of the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University. Lippit was a friend to the collectors Sylvan Barnet and William Burto and the three often corresponded regarding translations of different Buddhist sutra texts.
[2] See note 1, and 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. 60-61, cat. no. 11. Barnet and Burto had acquired the piece by at least 2002, so that it was included in the exhibition. See also 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 August 9, 2004, and counter-signed by Barnet and Burto August 13, 2004. The object is described as “Section of “Sermon,” chapter 2 of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings.” 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 “”Sermon,” chapter 2 of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings,” described as “Segment of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on purple-dyed paper with mica, color, gold, and silver.” 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.
[3] See note [2], 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 on 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 “Sermon”, chapter 2 of the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings” described as “Late Heian period, 12th century; Ink on purple-dyed paper with mica, color, gold, and silver” with the credit line “Gift of Sylvan Barnet and William Burto.” This object is part of the Museum’s Freer Gallery of Art Collection.
[4] See notes 2 and 3.
Research updated July 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 Written Image: Japanese Calligraphy and Painting from the Sylvan Barnet and William Burto Collection (October 1, 2002 to March 02, 2003)
