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A painted hand scroll with four large figures side by side and dressed in orange robes with circles behind their heads. There is a smaller, blue-skinned figure also dressed in orange. They are sitting cross-legged on lotuses. One larger figure is encircled by smaller figures that are dressed in detailed orange attires.

The painted hand scroll is rectangular in shape and shown horizontally with a pale, tan background. There are four large figures side-by-side that are all dressed in orange cloth and red pants with circles behind their heads. Three of the four figures are sitting cross-legged on lotus blossoms. The figure to the far right is sitting while leaning on their hand and looking down, their lotus blossom is on top of a grey rock form. The figure at the center-right is standing upward with many arms behind their back holding small objects and is encircled by six smaller figures also dressed in detailed, orange attire and is standing on a smaller figure. The two large figures to the left are sitting cross-legged and holding small, floral objects in their hands with a smaller, blue-skinned figure sitting cross-legged on a lotus in between them.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1973.65.A
Title
Seven Forms of Avalokitesvara (Kannon Bosatsu), Vol. 6 of the Iconographic Compendium (Zuzōshō)
Other Titles
Transliterated Title: Zuzōshō: Kannon Bosatsu (Avalokitesvara)
Series/Book Title: Zuzōshō
Classification
Paintings
Work Type
painting, handscroll
Date
Kamakura period, circa 1300
Places
Creation Place: East Asia, Japan, Kyoto Metropolitan Area, Kyōto
Period
Kamakura period, 1185-1333
Culture
Japanese
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/296296

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Handscroll; ink and color paper
Dimensions
actual: H. 30.2 x W. 1477.1 cm (11 7/8 x 581 9/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: priest Kenga at age 59 and date on which he read the text: 1742

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Hofer Collection of the Printed and Graphic Arts of Asia in honor of Professor and Mrs. Max Loehr
Accession Year
1973
Object Number
1973.65.A
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Publication History

  • John M. Rosenfield, Fumiko Cranston, and Edwin A. Cranston, The Courtly Tradition in Japanese Art and Literature: Selections from the Hofer and Hyde Collections, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1973), Cat. No. 26 / pp. 86-87
  • John M. Rosenfield, The Japanese Courtier: Painting, Calligraphy, and Poetry from the Fogg Art Museum, the Philip Hofer Collection (With a Complementary Selection of Lacquers and Other Arts of Japan from the Collection of F. Bailey Vanderhoef, Jr.), exh. cat., Santa Barbara Museum of Art (Santa Barbara, CA, 1980), Cat. No. 42 / pp. 62-63

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 2740 Buddhist II, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/19/2019 - 11/29/2021

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu