Catalog: Antiques: Regional Art: Asian: Japanese: Devotional Objects (2)

During the Kamakura period in Japan (1185-1333), a remarkable form of Buddhist sculpture known as the votive Buddha emerged. Commonly referred to as kakebotoke (hanging Buddhas), pieces like this would have been mounted on spherical plaques made of bronze or copper and hung in a Buddhist temple or possibly even in a Shinto shrine. These small-scale sculptures were created to serve as objects of devotion and were often commissioned by wealthy individuals or temples...

Also known as "The Buddha of Immeasurable Light and Life,” here in this pre-Edo Buddhist painting we see Amida and his two assistant bodhisattvas, Seishi on the left (associated with wisdom and strength), and Kannon on the right (associated with compassion and mercy), descending from the Western Pure Land to welcome newly deceased believers into the realm of paradise...