Processional Mask of a Bodhisattva
late 1100s
Maker Unknown
Japanese Art
Processional Mask of a Bodhisattva, late 1100s. Japan, Heian period (794–1185). Wood, lacquered and painted; overall: 22 x 16 cm (8 11/16 x 6 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1950.581 This ceremonial mask was used in a dramatic enactment of the descent of the Buddha Amida and his entourage to welcome the dying to his Pure Land. The mask represents the face of an enlightened being called a bodhisattva. Performances of the welcoming descent had begun by the early 11th century and continue at some temples today. The most famous welcoming descent procession happens each year on April 14 at the temple Taimadera in Nara.
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Formatted Medium
- wood, lacquered and painted
- Dimensions
- Overall: 22 x 16 cm (8 11/16 x 6 5/16 in.)
- Departments
- Japanese Art
- Accession Number
- 1950.581
- Credit Line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Exhibitions
- 35th Anniversary Exhibition, Japanese Arts of the Heian Period, <em>Japanese Arts of the Heian Period: 794-1185</em>. Asia House Gallery, New York City, NY (October 5-December 17, 1967) and Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (January 17-February 25, 1968)., <em>One Thousand Years of Japanese Art (650-1650) from The Cleveland Museum of Art. </em>Japan House Gallery, New York, NY (March 19-May 17, 1981)., <em>Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 237)</em>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 10, 2013-November 17, 2015).
- Rights Statement
- CC0
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