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https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=8F6FBF1E460ED32F46B29D0E77D36CE8C9D1AC8D65D8A5E896AA18C1EB8EE032&s=24247294&se=1128270358&v=5&f=1987.185_o2.jpg

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=0CCDC0FBAC02DB7182390DA00082ED073AAE42B975FF626AD3DE33661EFAF14F&s=24247294&se=1128270358&v=1&f=%5C1987.185det01_o2.jpg

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Aizen Myōō

愛染明王像

early 1300s

Japan, Kamakura period

(1185-1333)

Wood with black lacquer and red pigments

Overall: 75 x 59 x 35 cm (29 1/2 x 23 1/4 x 13 3/4 in.)

Bequest of Elizabeth M. Skala 1987.185

Location

235B Japanese

Did you know?

The torso, head, and legs of this figure were carved from a single block of wood. Four of the arms were carved separately.

Description

The Buddhist deity Aizen Myōō channels carnal desire into a lust for spiritual enlightenment. In its principal right arm, this figure once held a vajra, a symbolic weapon used to cut through illusion, while its main left arm still grasps the vajra bell rung to bring one to awareness. The lion’s head in Aizen’s hair holds its mouth open to devour thoughts and desires. Holes along the front of the legs show where the sculpture’s base would have been attached.

Provenance

Yamaoka, Kyoto, Japan

?–1987

(London Gallery Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1987–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1987.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 2 (1988): 30–71. Mentioned: no. 207, p. 71; Reproduced: no. 207, p. 50 www.jstor.org

Cunningham, Michael R. "Fierce Salvation: Comments on a Recently Acquired Japanese Sculpture." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 80, no. 4 (1993): 140–143. Reproduced: pp. 141–142; Mentioned: pp. 140–143 www.jstor.org

Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. Masterworks of Asian art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 198–199

Grossman, Nancy, James T. Ulak, Marjorie Williams, and Laurence Channing. Art of Japan: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2005. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 46

Exhibition history

Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 235). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 9, 2013-November 16, 2015).

The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).

Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - January-July 2017. The Cleveland Museum of Art (January 9-July 10, 2017).

Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - July 2017-January 2018. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 15, 2017-January 2, 2018).

Modern Japan (Japanese art rotation) 235. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 14, 2022-June 18, 2023).

Animals in Japanese Art (Japanese art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24-December 10, 2023).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Aizen Myōō|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1987.185|year=early 1300s|access-date=03 December 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Aizen Myōō

Aizen Myōō

愛染明王像

Japan, Kamakura period

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