A GILT BRONZE BODHISATTVA FROM A KAKEBOTOKE

METALWORK

Details

A GILT BRONZE BODHISATTVA FROM A KAKEBOTOKE
KAMAKURA PERIOD (13TH CENTURY)

Hollow-cast in the form of a Bodhisattva seated dhyanasana on a lotus platform with hands in vajra-anjalikarmamudra (the diamond handclasp) and the face in meditative expression beneath a raised diadem, the figure draped in loose robes falling in pleats at the arms, waist and over the knees and open at the chest, the face cast with downcast eyes beneath slightly arched brows and the neck cast with a triple fold, cast at the back of head and base with two fittings for suspension--5 1/8in. (13cm.) high, wood box

Provenance

Taman Daihian Collection

Lot Essay

This simplified figure was attached with small nails to a kakebotoke, a circular metal votive plaque that is unique to the Buddhist art of Japan. The kakebotoke symbolizes a mirror, sacred to the Shinto tradition. The placement of Buddhist deities on a Shinto mirror-form expresses the merging of the two faiths in a syncretic relationship.