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Small Figure of the Bodhisattva Sho Kannon (Avalokiteshvara)

Asian Art

On View: Asian Galleries, Southwest, 2nd floor
These small wood figures of Kannon, as Avalokiteshvara is known in Japan, are from a large group of standing images of the Bodhisattva that once belonged to a temple in Nara. Large displays of “One Thousand Kannons,” each with subtly different gestures, as seen in these two figures, celebrate the diverse roles of the Bodhisattva.
MEDIUM Wood, gesso, and paint
  • Place Made: Japan
  • DATES ca. 1100
    PERIOD Heian Period
    DIMENSIONS 19 1/4 x 6 1/8 in. (48.9 x 15.5 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 05.106
    CREDIT LINE Brooklyn Museum Collection
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Small figure of the Bodhisattva (Bosatsu) Bodhisat-Sho Kwannon (Chinese Kwan Yin, Sanscrit Avalokitesvara), standing on a lotus pedestal. The left arm is partially raised the right is at one side, thrust forward a little. The figure wears a fillet around the base of his high chignon, sashes over the shoulders and across the chest, and a long skirt which reaches to the bare feet. The lotus pedestal rests on a three tiered base with scalloped edges. The figure and pedestal are carved separately, with the figure tenoned into the base. Both are carved of light brown, finely grained wood, probably kiri or paulownia. They were once covered with polychrome applied over a foundation of white gesso. This has now nearly all worn off, leaving only occasional traces of red, green and white gesso. Where exposed the wood has darkened. The long sashes hanging from the shoulders have been broken at the waist. The shoulders and arms, which are separate piece of wood, are cracked. The surface of the wood is worn in many places and is also scratched. This statue came from the Kofukuji Temple in Nara and was presumably one of a great number of similar ones sold about the turn of the century by the temple in order to pay for certain repairs. It was the first identified as such by Mr. Langdon Warner of the Fogg Museum at a Collector's meeting of the Society for Japanese Studies in the winter of 1935-1936.
    EXHIBITIONS
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Asian Galleries, Southwest, 2nd floor
    CAPTION Small Figure of the Bodhisattva Sho Kannon (Avalokiteshvara), ca. 1100. Wood, gesso, and paint, 19 1/4 x 6 1/8 in. (48.9 x 15.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, 05.106. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 05.106_05.104_PS9.jpg)
    IMAGE group, 05.106_05.104_PS9.jpg.
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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     <em>Small Figure of the Bodhisattva Sho Kannon (Avalokiteshvara)</em>, ca. 1100. Wood, gesso, and paint, 19 1/4 x 6 1/8 in. (48.9 x 15.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, 05.106. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 05.106_05.104_PS9.jpg)