AMICA ID:
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MIA_.2000.87.3
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AMICA Library Year:
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2002
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Object Type:
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Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
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Creator Name:
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artist unknown
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Creator Nationality:
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Asian; Far East Asian; Chinese
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Creator Name-CRT:
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artist unknown
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Title:
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Almsbowl
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View:
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Front
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Creation Date:
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about 1100
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Creation Start Date:
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1080
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Creation End Date:
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1120
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Materials and Techniques:
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black lacquer
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Dimensions:
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H.4 x Dia.8-3/16 in.
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Component Measured:
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overall
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Measurement Unit:
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in
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AMICA Contributor:
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The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
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Owner Location:
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Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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ID Number:
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2000.87.3
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Credit Line:
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Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton
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Rights:
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Context:
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The almsbowl was one of the few essential possessions of a Buddhist monk specified in the Vinaya, the 6th century b.c. code of Buddhist monastic practice. Based on clay Indian prototypes, the use of simple monochromatic vessels like this symbolized the monk's vow of poverty. Of perfectly rounded form, with sides rising from a round base and curving inward to a wide rimless mouth, this bowl is the epitomy of refined elegance. The oldest surviving lacquered almsbowls are 8th century examples preserved in the Shoso-in Repository in Nara, Japan. This extremely rare bowl appears to be the most refined in form and finish of all recorded examples and it has been dated by carbon-14 analysis of its wooden core to about a.d. 1100. |
Related Image Identifier Link:
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MIA_.22009c.tif
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