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A VERY LARGE AND RARE LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF HOKAN SHAKA NYORAI, MUROMACHI PERIOD Japan, 14th-16th century, Muromachi period (1333-1573) Finely carved and assembled in yosegi-zukuri technique, painted in gofun, polychrome pigments, lacquer and gold leaf. The robe is decorated in relief with flowers and scrolls in a technique called domon 土紋, a decoration made from clay and fixed with lacquer. The hairstyle is topped with a high bun called hokei and girded with a thin tiara, the tenkandai. Two holes in the tenkaidai show that originally a golden copper crown, hokan, was attached to the head. Hokan Shaka Nyorai (the historical crowned Buddha) is shown seated in dhyanasana atop a tall lotus throne with individually carved petals, the hands lowered in zenjo-in (dhyana mudra). The serene face with heavy-lidded eyes below gently arched brows centered by a rock crystal byakugo (urna). The base consists of three tiers: - a round gilded base decorated with stylized upside-down lotus petals; - above it, a thin open lotus flower on which rests a carved and open-worked element decorated with lotus flowers and scrolls; - then, a large lotiform base whose petals are realistically carved. Each of the petals is covered with an ornament painted in polychrome and in relief according to the domon technique representing the three sacred jewels on a lotus (Sanbo no shinboru - 三宝のシンボル) symbolizing the Buddha: the enlightened one who has attained Nirvana, the Dharma: the Buddha's teaching, and the Shanga: the Buddhist monastic order. HEIGHT 74 cm (the figure) and 112 cm (total) Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, age cracks, chips, losses, flaking, repairs and touchups, nicks, scratches. The mandorla and crown are lost. Provenance: From a private collection in Paris, France. Museum comparison: Compare the related figure of Amida Nyorai with jeweled crown, dated 13th century, in the Zaika-ji Temple in Toyokawa, Aichi, exhibited in New Life for Timeless Art, Tokyo National Museum, 1 October – 1 December 2019. Compare the related figure of Hokan Shaka Nyorai dated 1352 in the Hoko-ji Temple in Shizuoka (an Important Cultural Property), exhibited in The Art of Zen. From Mind to Form, Tokyo National Museum, 18 October – 27 November 2016. Also compare a related bronze figure of Maitreya, dated 1713 by inscription, 110 cm high, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Yu-min, Lee / Tyu-yin, Chung (2015) Imprints of Buddhas: Buddhist Art in the National Palace Museum Collection, p. 214, no. 86.

재료

Wood