398 - A WOOD FIGURE OF JŪICHIMEN KANNON

A WOOD FIGURE OF JŪICHIMEN KANNON Japan, Possibly Heian period (794-1185) Carved from a single block of hinoki cypress (ichiboku-zukuri), the bodhisattva standing with a long, serene face bearing the traces of a gentle smile, the head noticeably deeper than it is wide and set above a relatively shallow body, the hair drawn up in a high chignon, traces at the crown marking the position of the now-lost subsidiary heads that identify the figure as Jūichimen Kannon, the eleven-headed form of the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The arms and feet lost, the surface deeply weathered, eroded and split along the grain with age, yet the face retaining a presence of great serenity. Raised on a later wood stand. H: 103.5cm Japan Heian period