Portable Shrine

KOREA; Goryeo dynasty

This portable Buddha shrine was made for a royal family during the Goryeo dynasty and is one of the few to survive. A standing Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva are on either side of a lotus pedestal that once held a figure of the Buddha. Both figures stand on lotus pedestals with hands in welcoming mudra. At the back, there is a relief of a Buddha sitting on a high lotus throne, with right hand in vitarka (teaching) mudra and the left in dhyana (meditation) mudra. Eight Bodhisattvas with nimbuses feature on either side of the relief. Above is a pair of apsaras holding lotuses surrounded by cloud patterns.
Two Dharma protectors stand on the inside of the doors with their bodies bent and facing downward. Above them are longevity trees. The shrine is arranged symmetrically and depicts the Pure Land.