Tendai Priest (Patriarch) Portrait of one of the eight high priests of the Tendai Sect of Buddhism in Japan. Kamakura. 1185 to 1392 A.D. Single wood construction; no restoration.

Figure of a Monk, 9th-10th century

Unknown artist, expand_more

Woodexpand_more

Gift Mr. and Mrs. Richard P. Galeexpand_more  62.14

Shown in the gesture of discourse or expounding the law (vitarka mudra), this monk has been rendered with particular sensitivity and with a minimum of detail. The statue relates closely in size, style and surface condition to four priest statues remaining in Far Eastern temples. Scholarship now shows that the group, once thought to be Japanese in origin, is actually Chinese and that the ultimate stylistic source for the sculpture is rooted in Tang dynasty sculpture (618-907).

Details
Title
Figure of a Monk
Role
Artist
Accession Number
62.14
Curator Approved

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Tendai Priest (Patriarch) Portrait of one of the eight high priests of the Tendai Sect of Buddhism in Japan. Kamakura. 1185 to 1392 A.D. Single wood construction; no restoration.