Standing Bodhisattva

Description

This work demonstrates the enduring presence of Buddhism and its religious practice during the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910) even after Neo-Confucianism, a revised form of Confucianism that emphasized self-cultivation as a path to the formation of a harmonious society and state, became the state religion. Because of its missing crown, it is hard to identify what Buddhist deity this statue represents. But there is no doubt it still can be attributed to a bodhisattva (meaning “enlightened being”) for its iconographic attributes: elaborate jewelry and a lock of long hair.

Provenance

The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll and Roberta Carroll, MD, New York, NY (?–1997); (Joseph P. Carroll, Ltd., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (1997); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1997–)

Standing Bodhisattva

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1500s

Accession Number

1997.11

Medium

wood with lacquer and gold, and metal earrings

Dimensions

Overall: 48.6 x 15.6 x 18.2 cm (19 1/8 x 6 1/8 x 7 3/16 in.)

Classification

Sculpture

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund