mask
- Museum number
- 1945,1017.401
- Description
-
Mask of bodhisattva's head, for Gyodo ceremony. Made of black lacquered, gilt and painted wood; also glass.
- Production date
- 13thC
- Dimensions
-
Height: 23 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
The V&A Museum has a very similar piece (W.127-1928), also acquired from Yamanaka & Co.
-
Zwalf 1985
In the Gyōdō ceremony derived from Tang China, priests wearing bodhisattva masks parade images outside temples and are preceded by others wearing masks of mythical beings such as the lion-dog (‘shishi’). Bodhisattva masks are particularly associated with ‘raigō’ forms of these ceremonies, enacting the welcome of the dead into paradise.
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
2006 Oct 13-, BM Japanese Galleries, 'Japan from prehistory to the present'
- Acquisition date
- 1945
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1945,1017.401
