Artworks

Nikkō

Artwork · Anonymous · mid 8th century · statue · Tōdai-ji Temple

A clay figure of serene, gentle youth, palms together, beside the Fukūkenjaku Kannon in the Hokkedō: the bodhisattva of sunlight, a name probably given later — the pair may first have been Bonten and Taishakuten, and are “guest” sculptures not made for the hall. Its garment is open across the chest like a monk’s robe; its crown sits low. 1 Mason 2005, p. 89, fig. 109. ↩ Literatur Mason 2005: Penelope E. Mason, History of Japanese Art, 2nd, Pearson Education LTD. 2005.