AN INSCRIBED GILT AND BLACK LACQUER ‘CORPSE MEDITATION’ SUTRA BOX, THAILAND, 19TH-EARLY 20TH CENTURY

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AN INSCRIBED GILT AND BLACK LACQUER ‘CORPSE MEDITATION’ SUTRA BOX, THAILAND, 19TH-EARLY 20TH CENTURY Of rectangular form, the box surmounted by an overhanging red-lacquered floating panel and raised on a broad spreading plinth with tiered moldings. The long sides are divided by floral pilasters into finely executed gold-and-black lacquer panels depicting monks engaged in asubha-kammaṭṭhāna, or corpse meditation, before human bodies shown in successive stages of decomposition, including an exposed skeleton, all surrounded by dense flame-like kranok foliage, while the borders are richly decorated with lotus petals, interlaced geometric designs, and floral scrolls. Dimensions: Size 28.3 x 27 x 82.5 cm Sutra boxes were used to safeguard Buddhist manuscripts (sutras) as sacred objects when they are not being read by monks, viewed by visiting dignitaries, or serving as objects of ritual veneration. These ornate storage containers are often embellished with figural and geometric decoration, such as this example that depicts guardian deities and celestial worshippers amidst foliage with elaborate borders. Alternatively, they can be purely ornamental and devoid of figural decoration. Corpse meditation, or asubha-kammaṭṭhāna, is an ancient Buddhist practice of looking at or imagining a dead body to accept the end of life, reduce physical desire, and overcome the fear of dying Literature comparison: Compare a closely related sutra box, dated c. 1920-1940, 30.5 x 82.6 x 25.4 cm, in the Los Angeles Country Museum, accession number M.75.57. Compare a related sutra box, dated 19th century, 23.8 x 83.5 x 28.5 cm, in the Chester Beatty Museum, object number Thi 1364.

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