Description
Earthen mounds that marked the sites of interred relics in ancient India are called stupas. As Buddhism traveled through East Asia, the mounds took on the form of towers called “pagodas” by Westerners. This miniature tower, painted with Buddhist deities on the interiors of the doors on each side, likely once held items considered to be sacred relics. The deities on the doors have been tentatively identified as the four bodhisattvas of the sacred text the Lotus Sutra, and two Guardian Kings known as Niō.
Provenance
(Setsu Gatodo Company, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?–1982); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1982–)
Accession Number
1982.8
Medium
wood and metal
Dimensions
Average: 68 x 34.4 cm (26 3/4 x 13 9/16 in.)
Classification
Sculpture
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund