A rare and culturally significant sarira, the remains of Buddhist monks from Korea s 14th-century Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), will return home after more than eight decades in the United States.
Boston Museum to Return 14th-century Sarira to Korea after 85 Years koreabizwire.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from koreabizwire.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston will loan to South Korea a 14th-century Buddhist reliquary, following a deal reached Monday that marks a dramatic shift in the US museum’s position on the artifact over the last 15 years. A day of negotiations at the museum resulted in the Museum of Fine Arts donating the remains of Buddhist masters found after cremation, called “sarira,” while placing on loan the rel.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston said it would review any claims of theft if such evidence is presented concerning a Buddhist reliquary that South Korea is looking to repatriate, ahead of talks over the issue Monday morning in the US. Karen Frascona, the museum’s marketing and communications director, told The Korea Herald that “there is nothing in its history to indicate theft, looting or coercive transfe.
President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee’s Lunar New Year gifts triggered controversy, as they were presented to Buddhist leaders in packaging featuring illustrations of a church, cross and rosary drawn by Hansen’s disease patients. An association of Hansen’s disease patients also expressed displeasure, saying the patients were hurt by the controversy which they said caused by prejudice.