id:			153662
accession number:	1987.185
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1987.185
updated:		2020-07-06 09:00:46.521000

Aizen Myōō, early 1300s. Japan, Kamakura period (1185-1333). Wood, with lacquer and color; overall: 75 x 59 x 35 cm (29 1/2 x 23 1/4 x 13 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Elisabeth M. Skala 1987.185

title:				Aizen Myōō
title in original language:	愛染明王像
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			early 1300s
creation date earliest:		1300
creation date latest:		1333
current location:		235B Japanese
creditline:			Bequest of Elisabeth M. Skala
copyright:			

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culture:	Japan, Kamakura period (1185-1333)
technique:	wood, with lacquer and color
department:	Japanese Art
collection:	Japanese Art
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 75 x 59 x 35 cm (29 1/2 x 23 1/4 x 13 3/4 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		The Year in Review for 1987
	opening date:   1988-02-24T05:00:00
	<i>The Year in Review for 1987</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).

	title:		Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - January-July 2017
	opening date:   2017-01-09T05:00:00
	<i>Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - January-July 2017</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (January 9-July 10, 2017).

	title:		Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - July 2017-January 2018
	opening date:   2017-07-15T04:00:00
	<i>Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - July 2017-January 2018</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 15, 2017-January 2, 2018).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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

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PROVENANCE

	Yamaoka, Kyoto, Japan.
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(London Gallery Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, ?-1987, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
	date: ?-1987
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 1987-present
	date: 1987-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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

digital description: 


wall description: 
The Buddhist deity Aizen channels carnal desire into a lust for spiritual enlightenment, and is an appropriation of the Hindu deity Rāgarāja. In its principal right arm this figure once held a vajra to cut through illusion, while its main left arm still grasps the vajra bell rung to bring one to awareness. The other arms grasped a lotus bud symbolizing the power of the Buddhist teachings, and a bow and arrow, borrowed from Kama, the Hindu god of love. The lion’s head in Aizen’s hair holds its mouth open so that it may be fed thoughts and desires. Traces of the red pigment that covered the deity’s body remain. Holes along the front of the legs show where the sculpture’s base, a lotus pedestal placed upon an urn spewing wish-fulfilling jewels, would have been attached.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Cunningham, Michael R. "Fierce Salvation: Comments on a Recently Acquired Japanese Sculpture." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 80, no. 4 (1993): 140-43.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 141-42; Mentioned: p. 140-43
	url:		https://www.jstor.org/stable/25161402

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IMAGES