A fairly massive rendering of a joyously radiant Nyoirin Kannon, sculpted in bold relief from andesite, an extremely hard, heavy igneous stone.

Sculpted in bold relief with undulating flair, a joyous Nyoirin Kannon, the only deity in the Buddhist pantheon depicted in the pose of royal ease.

Sculpted with charming simplicity from an extremely hard, fine-grained stone, an enchanting little Senju Kannon, stone depictions of which are exceedingly uncommon.

A charmingly folksy interpretation of Buddhism's most alluring deity.

Founder of the Japanese Shingon sect of esoteric Buddhism, creator of the kana syllabary still used in modern written Japanese, and master calligrapher, Kobo Daishi heads the list of Japan's great cultural heroes. Stone depictions of Kobo Daishi are uncommon. Sculpted in a distinctly modernist style from a gray-hued schist, this example apparently has always been displayed indoors, as suggested both by the condition and by the salmon-hued linen cloth covering the bottom surface. An exceptional Kobo Daishi in stone, to be sure.

Sadogashima, an island in the Japan Sea off the coast of Niigata Prefecture, is famous for its production of a distinctive style of figurative stone Jizo, of which this piece is a perfectly representative, and notably good, example.

This rough-hewn example, apparently a male figure and female figure, is a representative style of Dosojin found in Gunma Prefecture, a mountainous region located centrally on the main island of Honshu.

A sizable, notably atmospheric mid-Edo piece in excellent condition.

A charming, small-scale depiction of Japan's most popular lucky god, extremely uncommon in stone.

Jizo stones sculpted in this style and stone type are unique to Yamagata Prefecture in Tohoku, the northernmost region of Japan's main island of Honshu.