Silver scripture
Period: Goryeo, 14th century
Status: National Treasure No. 1137
This is a handwritten version of the “Avatamsaka Sutra.” The body of the scripture and its title were written in an ink made of silver dust mixed with glue and gold paint. The dye used to make the paper was made with the fruit of an oak tree. The sutra is assumed to have been produced during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) because many handwritten Buddhist scriptures were brought to Korea at that time. The act of writing a Buddhist scripture by hand, or sagyeong, was thought to bring the writer virtue because of the great amount of effort involved.
*The photos and text for Treasure Trove are provided by the National Museum of Korea. For more information, call (02) 2077-9000 or visit www.museum.go.kr.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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