Base for Seated Buddha with Halo Japan, Heian period (794–1185)

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Base for Seated Buddha with Halo

如来坐像（台座）

1100s

Japan, Heian period

(794–1185)

gilded wood

Overall: 145.4 cm (57 1/4 in.); Figure: 88.2 cm (34 3/4 in.); Pedestal: 57.2 cm (22 1/2 in.)

Gift of Takako Setsu and her husband, Iwao, in memory of her father-in-law, Inosuke Setsu, and his long friendship with Sherman E. Lee 1973.85.c

Location: 235B Japanese

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Did You Know?

This figure is depicted with a mudra, or hand gesture, that means "have no fear."

Description

Composed of a number of hollowed-out pieces of wood that were then covered with lacquer and gilding, this sculpture would have served as the principal image of worship in a Buddhist temple hall. The Buddha Yakushi resides in the Lapis Lazuli Paradise of the East, and heals all diseases, including the ailment of ignorance. His left hand once held a medicine jar, while his right hand gestures reassurance. Seated on a lotus pedestal and backed by a mandorla and halo, the Buddha may have once been flanked by the bodhisattvas of the Sun and Moon, Nikkō and Gakkō, and protected by the Twelve Divine Generals, or Junishinshō.