Property from a European private collection (lots 783-789)






A Buddhist sharito (reliquary)


Japan, 19th centuryThe gilt copper reliquary comprising a circular container holding a selection of small stones, within a pierced foliate border, set on a pedestal stem and stepped base with lotus petal, wave and brocade designs.11.5cm (4.1/2in) high.
|The preservation of relics has played an important part in Buddhist practice since early times, but in medieval Japan, polished pebbles, bones or pieces of glass sometimes took the place of actual body parts.Compare with an example in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (inv. no. 2006.42), dated to the 16th/17th century.