Kuramadera Temple: Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
Cypress wood
Kuramadera Temple: Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
JAPAN, Kyoto; Kamakura period
According to an inscription at the foot of the statue, it was made in 1226 and presented to the temple in 1229. It was listed as an Important Cultural Property in 1930.
The head and body of this Avalokitesvara were carved separately out of cypress wood and the pupils are of inlaid semi-precious stone. The figure’s hair is arranged ornately and circled by a fillet. The slender Bodhisattva holds a lotus bud in the left hand, while the right is raised in the lotus mudra. A stole crosses the upper body. A long skirt falls to the ground in graduated folds. The head is held slightly forward and, since the waist sways to one side, the body’s weight is thrown on the back foot. Behind the body, a hollow aureole merges with a circular nimbus, only the top of which is patterned.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture G-M, page 570.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture G-M},
pages = 570,
title = {{Kuramadera Temple: Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva}},
volume = 11,
year = {2016}}