2019.91: Aizen Myoo
PaintingsGallery Text
Surrounded by a ring of fire, brandishing a weapon in
each of his six hands, and wearing a lion’s head crown
capped with a thunderbolt atop his flaming hair: this is
the deity Aizen Myōō, Wisdom King of Passion, whose
burning wrath is as arresting as it is unmistakable.
An important recent acquisition, this painting dates
to around the same period as the sculpture of Prince
Shōtoku (c. 1292), which contained two smaller
sculptures of Aizen displayed in the adjacent gallery.
The work is a rare portrait of the sculptural icon of the
deity once installed at the temple of Ninnaji, in Kyoto.
Painting sculptures was a practice usually reserved for
icons said to have performed miracles; notably, the monk
Eison’s rituals to Aizen were credited with whipping up
the divine winds that prevented the Mongol invasions of
Japan in 1274 and 1281.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 2019.91
- Title
- Aizen Myoo
- Classification
- Paintings
- Work Type
- painting, hanging scroll
- Date
- 13th century
- Places
- Creation Place: East Asia, Japan
- Period
- Kamakura period, 1185-1333
- Culture
- Japanese
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/362254
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk
- Dimensions
-
painting proper: H. 118.4 × W. 58.9 cm (46 5/8 × 23 3/16 in.)
overall mounting, including roller ends and suspension cord: H. 213.4 × W. 84.5 cm (84 × 33 1/4 in.)
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
-
Mutō Sanji (1867-1934), Tokyo (by 1924), sold; to Morita Echizan, Osaka (1924 to unknown). Kanda Yoshio, Osaka, (by 2011), sold; to The London Gallery, Tokyo, (2011-2019), sold; Harvard Art Museums, 2019.
NB: Kanda Yoshio, son-in-law of Morita Echizan.
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Ernest B. and Helen Pratt Dane Fund for Asian Art and through the Richard Norton Memorial Fund
- Accession Year
- 2019
- Object Number
- 2019.91
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Exhibition History
Verification Level
This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be 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