Oct 12, 2020
Nov 13, 2009
Nov 13, 2009
Oct 12, 2020
Nov 13, 2009
Oct 12, 2020
Nov 13, 2009
Oct 12, 2020
Oct 12, 2020
Oct 12, 2020

Batō (Horse-Headed) Kannon

Batō (Horse-Headed) Kannon

馬頭観音像

early 1300s

Part of a set. See all set records

Wood with traces of color and gold; pedestal: wood with lacquer, color, and gold

Overall: 110.6 cm (43 9/16 in.); Base: 28 cm (11 in.); Figure: 82.6 cm (32 1/2 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 1981.1

Location

Description

Batō Kannon, or Hayagriva Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit, is the “horse-headed” form of the bodhisattva of compassion, who presides over the realm of animals in the Buddhist Six Realms of Transmigration. A horse’s head appears in the hair of this sculpture to identify it. Bodhisattvas are beings who, though enlightened, choose to remain within the worlds of existence to help others. The six realms are heaven, hell, human, animal, hungry ghost, and ashura, or fierce supernatural entities.

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