id:			149099
accession number:	1977.32
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1977.32
updated:		2023-03-11 20:51:08.242000

Bishamonten Ritual Mirror, 1000s–1100s. Japan, Heian period (794–1185). Silvered bronze with incised design; diameter: 15.3 cm (6 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 1977.32

title:				Bishamonten Ritual Mirror
title in original language:	毘沙門天鏡像
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1000s–1100s
creation date earliest:		1000
creation date latest:		1199
current location:		
creditline:			The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Japan, Heian period (794–1185)
technique:	silvered bronze with incised design
department:	Japanese Art
collection:	Japanese Art
type:		Metalwork
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Diameter: 15.3 cm (6 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Year in Review: 1977
	opening date:   1977-12-28T05:00:00
	<i>Year in Review: 1977</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1977-January 22, 1978).

	title:		Mirrors: Art and Symbol
	opening date:   1984-07-03T04:00:00
	<i>Mirrors: Art and Symbol</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 3-November 18, 1984).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	H. Minkenhof
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Shunichi Yabumoto Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
	date: ?–1977
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1977–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
Bishamonten sits on a demon who struggles beneath his weight.

digital description:


wall description:
Bishamonten, the Buddhist guardian of the North, appears here with an entourage. Early votive mirrors like this one are called <em>kyōzō</em>, literally “mirrors with images.” One theory is that they appeared along with the development of Shinto-Buddhist combinatory thought, in which specific Buddhist deities were identified with specific kami, or Shinto deities. In this theory, sacred mirrors venerated as proxies for kami came to be incised with images of Buddhist deities. Another idea is that they developed in the context of Esoteric Buddhist ritual.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1977.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 65, no. 1 (1978): 2–42.
	page number: 	Reproduced: no. 148, p. 36; Mentioned: no. 148, p. 43
	url:		https://www.jstor.org/stable/25159560

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1977.32/1977.32_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1977.32/1977.32_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1977.32/1977.32_full.tif