Artworks

Senju Kannon no. 390, Sanjūsangendō

Artwork · Shōen · 12th century · sculpture · Sanjūsangen-dō Temple

One of the images saved from the fire of the first Rengeōin. The largest pair of arms is folded across the body above the waist, the hands pressed together in prayer; a smaller pair cradles one hand in the other below the waist; a third pair holds long-handled implements, a monk’s staff and a trident-topped staff against evil. The other arms are carved separately; skirt and scarves are shallowly cut and fall softly — the elegant detailing and abstraction of late Heian sculpture. 1 Mason 2005, pp. 155–156, fig. 189. ↩ Literatur Mason 2005: Penelope E. Mason, History of Japanese Art, 2nd, Pearson Education LTD. 2005.