A GILT-LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF KANNON BOSATSU, MUROMACHI PERIOD

拍品描述

A GILT-LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF KANNON BOSATSU, MUROMACHI PERIOD Japan, 16th century, Muromachi period (1333-1573) Finely carved standing in a graceful pose with the knees slightly bent and the body leaning forward, the arms extended with upturned hands, dressed in a loose-fitting robe cascading in richly carved folds, the serene face with heavy-lidded eyes, elegantly arched brows, and bow-shaped lips, the hair arranged in a high chignon behind the pierced metal tiara. The bodhisattva stands on a circular lotus pedestal with leaf-form waist, waisted on an elaborate tiered hexagonal plinth with brocade-patterned balustrade, openworked floral panels, key-fret and zig-zag bands, and thick scrolling clouds. HEIGHT 34.8 cm This elegant, youthful figure depicts Kannon, the Buddhist bodhisattva of compassion, who postpones personal enlightenment to guide all beings along the path of the Buddha. In Japanese Buddhist art, Kannon appears in many forms. Here, he leans forward with open, upturned hands, attending Amida—the Buddha who descends from the heavens to welcome the faithful at the moment of death and escort them to the Western Paradise. This sculpture would originally have stood on an altar to the right of a larger image of Amida, balanced on the left by Seishi Bosatsu. Auction comparison: Compare a related larger wood figure of Seishi Bosatsu, dated to the Muromachi period, 77 cm high, at Lempertz, 6 December 2019, Cologne, lot 1 (sold for EUR 11,160 or approx. EUR 13,500 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).

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