Buddhist Deity Indra (Taishakuten)

Carver: Unknown

10th century

Asian Art

On view, 2nd floor, Asian Art

An important god who controls storms and rain, Indra is one of many early Indian deities that, over time, became known as protectors of Buddhism and its practitioners. This example—one of the most significant religious sculptures in the Gallery’s collection—was carved from a single block of wood (with the exception of the left sleeve and hand), using a technique that is characteristic of Japanese sculpture dating to the early Heian period. Traces of pigment on the garment indicate that it was once brightly colored.

Medium

Single block of torreya wood with traces of gesso and pigment

Dimensions

41 × 19 × 7 1/2 in. (104.1 × 48.3 × 19.1 cm)

Credit Line

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., Class of 1913, Fund

Accession Number

1963.31

Geography

Japan

Culture

Japanese

Period

Heian period (794–1185)

Classification

Sculpture

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Mathias Komor, New York, 1963; purchased by the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 1963
Bibliography
  • Mimi Hall Yiengpruksawan, "The Interstitial Buddha: Picturing the Death of Sakyamuni," in "Japanese Art at Yale," special issue, Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2007), 50–52, fig. 5
  • David Ake Sensabaugh, "Japanese Art for Yale," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2007), 36
  • Elise K. Kenney, ed., Handbook of the Collections: Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1992), 303, ill
  • George J. Lee, Selected Far Eastern Art in the Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1970), 38–39, no. 59, ill
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

figures (representations), religious art

Subject

Buddhism

Inscriptions

n.s.

Technical metadata and APIs

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