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Bodhisattva
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This sculpture represents one of two bodhisattvas who flank the Buddha Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Life and Light. He has one foot in front of the other and his right leg bent at the knee to show that he is in motion; his torso also sways. He accompanies Amida as he descends to collect a dying person who has asked to be born after death into Amida’s Pure Land, a place conducive to progressing along the path to enlightenment.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineBodhisattva (観音菩薩像), c. 1200–1250. Japan, Kamakura period (1185–1333). Lacquered wood with color, gilt copper, and cut-gold (kirikane); with base: 76.2 cm (30 in.); without base: 55.9 cm (22 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1952.90
