A BUDDHIST MANUSCRIPT WITH THE INQUIRY OF KING UDAYANA OF VATSA SUTRA
Korea, Goryeo dynasty style

The folding manuscript consists of sixteen sheets (each 20,5 x 6,9 cm) with an indigo background, on which text and images in gold are carried out. One side has two standing bodhisattva at both the extremities; on the left, arranged on six sheets, a continuous scene with the enthroned Buddha in the center flanked by divinities from the large Buddhist pantheon; follows the text - arranged vertically with twelve characters in each row - introduced by the title of the sutra. On the other side, at the two ends, the title page and the final sheet, both decorated with a floral arabesque, the first with a rectangular cartouche with the title of the text in seal type characters; starting from the right, again the text, followed by an image arranged on three sheets, depicting the Buddha seated on a rock, to his left a group of his faithful disciples.

20,5 x 110,4 cm

Provenance: private collection.

In The Inquiry of the Udayana King of Vatsa Sutra (sanskrit: Udayanavatsarājaparipṛcchā sūtra; chinese 佛說優填王經, You tian wang jing) is discussed the suffering caused by sexual desire starting from the story of King Udayana of Vatsa. Lived at the time when Sakyamuni preached in northern India, Udayana was known for his worldly passions, including that for women. It is said that once, instigated by his jealous wife, he was about to kill his daughter until the Buddha intervened. Udayana is also known for commissioning the first sacred image of Buddhism, to which he converted after listening to the sermons of Pindola Bharadvaja, one of Sakyamuni's closest disciples.

The production of Buddhist manuscripts (sagyong) is one of the most admired forms of art in Korea, appreciated since ancient times also in China, Japan and Mongolia, countries in which numerous examples of these illustrated texts are still preserved.
During the Goryeo period (918-1392), this devotional practice reached its artistic peak, with the production of numerous examples made for many patrons. To meet the great demand, the Royal Office for Sutras (Sagyongwon) was therefore established in the twelfth century, in which monks and professional calligraphers dedicated themselves to the production of manuscripts similar to the one presented here.
Usually, the manuscripts were made using a very precious paper obtained from the inner bark of the mulberry tree, then dyed in indigo, a background against which the calligraphic text and images (pyonsang) in gold or silver stood out. The opening and closing of the manuscript are usually decorated with arabesques of the flowers called posang tangcho.