The carved wood figure modeled as Amitabha Buddha standing in samabhanga, the face with a serene expression and incised downcast eyes, the right hand raised in vitarkamudra and the left held in dhyanamudra, the hair arranged in small, snail-shaped spiral curls (rahotsu) rising into the ushnisha, wearing a robe open at the torso and falling in pleats, the body applied with lacquer, inlaid glass urna to the forehead, the figure standing on a carved lotus platform
40 cm. (15³⁄₄ in.) high

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Lot Essay

The sculpture represents Amitabha, known in Japanese as Amida Nyorai, Buddha of Infinite Light. The Pure Land (Jodo) tradition in Japan emphasises the salvific powers of Amida; incantation of the Buddha’s name can invite divine intercession and devotion in life can insure rebirth in Amida’s Western Paradise. By the early eleventh century, it was increasingly believed that only the compassion of Amida could override the cycle of rise, decline and fall––the concept of mappo, meaning the end of the Law that would devolve into ten millennia of moral degradation and strife. By Japanese calculation, this would coincide with the year 1052.