An extremely rare ink on paper Mahaparinirvana 31st juan sutra handscroll China, Sui Dynasty

the text masterfully written in 'sutra style' script

Mr. Nobutsuna Sasaki (1872-1963)

There are tiny holes to a concentrated area of the paper, possibly from insects, that do not detract at all from the calligraphy, which remains clean and in good condition. Near the right end of the scroll are water stains to the top and bottom that increase in appearance towards the end and have seeped into the top and bottom rows of the calligraphy (which remain legible). The same end also with vertical tears to the paper, none affecting the calligraphy. The wooden rod at the left end is not adhered to the paper, though there are remnants of masking tape on the rod. The thin stick on the right end is still intact with the paper, though it has a missing piece in the center 2 inches long.
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The Mahaparinirvana Sutra (Da Ban Nie Pan Jing or Nirvana Sutra) is a voluminous and major Mahayana scripture which claims to preserve the Buddha's final and ultimate teachings on his last day and night on the earth. Concentrating on the eternal, unchanging, blissful, pure and deathless 'Self' of the Buddha, this Sutra achieved great popularity in the fifth and sixth centuries because of its inspiring message: as all human beings contain the Buddha-nature, all can attain the eternal release of Nirvana.

This Sutra exists in few Chinese translations. A brief translation of the original Indian scripture was created in the early fifth century by the monk Faxian during his travels between India and China. During the Northern Dynasties period, several Chinese monks integrated and amended this version with a slightly later and more comprehensive translation of forty juan into a single edition of thirty-six juan. It is known from Chinese records that at least two other Chinese translations were completed, but these are no longer extant. Although remnants of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra scrolls from the Sui dynasty have been discovered in excavations such as the Dunhuang Caves, it is extremely rare to find a complete scroll in such excellent condition. A section of the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, dated 557, excavated in Gaochang Kingdom (modern-day Xinjiang) and now in the National Museum of Chinese History, was included in the exhibition, The Glory of the Silk Road: Art from Ancient China, The Dayton Art Institute, 2003, cat. no. 46.

The calligraphy of the present scroll exemplifies the fine and distinctive 'sutra style' of the Sui dynasty. This style of script differed from that used in contemporary documents and developed from the practice of transcribing sutras, which from the 4^th century had the dual function of serving as a calligraphic exercise and representing an act of devotion. Compare the calligraphy with a handscroll fragment from the Sui dynasty included in the exhibition China: Dawn of a Golden Age 200-750 A.D., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2004, cat. no. 232.