painting
- Museum number
- 1938,0108,0.1
- Title
- Object: Amida sanzon raigo zu 阿弥陀三尊来迎図
- Description
-
Painting, hanging scroll mounted as a panel. Amida standing on lotus pedestal, his hands in mudra, and halo with fifteen rays of light; on left Seishi kneeling on lotus pedestal, hands clasped in prayer; on right Kannon on lotus pedestal holding lotus pedestal for the worshipper. Ink, colours and gold on silk.
- Production date
- 14thC
- Dimensions
-
Height: 162 centimetres (painting in frame)
-
Height: 124.40 centimetres
-
Width: 56.30 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
Reproduced in Kawasaki Yoshitaro, 'Choshunkaku' (1914), vol 1, no. 8 and the Baron Kawasaki collection sales catalogue (1928), no. 43.
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Hizo Nihon bijutsu taikan Vol 1
This work shows Amitabha (J. Amida) Buddha and two attendant bodhisattvas descending on clouds, coming to greet a dying believer. Amitabha Buddha stands on a lotus pedestal facing the viewer, his hands in a raigo mudra and a halo with fifteen rays of light shooting out from behind his head. Below to the proper right, Mahasthamaprapta (J. Seishi) Bodhisattva kneels atop a lotus pedestal, with hands clasped in prayer and his line of vision turned downward diagonally. Avalokitesvara (J. Kannon) Bodhisattva is shown below to the proper left, again on a lotus pedestal, but in a half-kneeling position, with just one leg bent. Avalokitesvara holds another lotus pedestal in her hands, and her line of vision mirrors Seishi's.
This type of Amitabha triad raigo painting combines elements from the two types that had been already known: one in which Amitabha Buddha is shown standing alone, facing straight ahead; and the other in which the standing Amitabha Buddha faces diagonally outward, flanked in front and behind by the two bodhisattvas.
The bodies and robes of the three deities are depicted here entirely in gold, a manner that became popular in depictions of the Amitabha's descent painted during the late Kamakura period. However, this painting takes on added richness of detail with the fine brown lines used to outline the contours of their bodies, the application of 'kirikane', cut gold leaf, for the geometric patterns on their garments, and the precise ink lines used to trace details of the crowns and accessories. This work dates from no later than the late Kamakura period and is a particularly beautiful example of this type of Amida raigo.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1938
- Acquisition notes
- The painting was in the collection of Baron Kawasaki Shozo, which was dispersed at auction in 1928.
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1938,0108,0.1
- Additional IDs
-
Asia painting number: Jap.Ptg.Add.133 (Japanese Painting Additional Number)
