110 - A POWERFUL LACQUERED WOOD ‘SCULPTOR’S MODEL’ HEAD OF THE NIO GUARDIAN AGYO, MUROMACHI PERIOD

A POWERFUL LACQUERED WOOD ‘SCULPTOR’S MODEL’ HEAD OF THE NIO GUARDIAN AGYO, MUROMACHI PERIOD Japan, 16 th century, Muromachi period (1333-1573) Finely carved from wood and covered in deep black lacquer, the wrathful guardian with a fierce expression, his bulging eyes set beneath deeply furrowed brows, the cheeks powerfully modeled, the nose with flaring nostrils, and the mouth open to reveal his teeth. The hair is gathered into a prominent topknot, while the thick neck is rendered with taut sinews. HEIGHT 15.1 cm Provenance: With G. Kitanaka, Kyoto, Japan (according to label). The private collection of Marion S. Sweeny, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA. Philadelphia art trade. The private collection of Dr. Brian Salzberg, Philadelphia, USA, acquired from the above in 2004. An old label from G. Kitanaka is affixed to the tomobako and inscribed, ‘No. 515, Wooden Head (Sculptor’s sample?) / 1336-1573 / period A.D Ashikaga?’. Dr Brian M. Salzberg is an American neuroscientist, biophysicist, and emeritus professor of Neuroscience and of Physiology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Condition: Very good condition with old wear. Signs of weathering, minuscule losses, chips and rubbing to the lacquer, and scattered encrustations. With a wood tomobako (storage box). Nio or Kongorikishi are two wrathful and muscular guardians of the Buddha standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in East Asian Buddhism in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues. They are dharmapala manifestations of the bodhisattva Vajrapani, the oldest and most powerful deity of the Mahayana Buddhist pantheon. According to Japanese tradition, they traveled with Gautama Buddha to protect him. Within the generally pacifist tradition of Buddhism, stories of dharmapalas justified the use of physical force to protect cherished values and beliefs against evil. Nio are also seen as a manifestation of Mahasthamaprapta, the bodhisattva of power that flanks Amitabha in Pure Land Buddhism and as Vajrasattva in Tibetan Buddhism. They are usually a pair of figures that stand under a separate temple entrance gate, usually called Niomon in Japan. Museum comparison: Compare a related group of two larger wooden heads of Nio with open and closed mouths, dated to the 1200s, Kamakura period, ca. 76.2 x 37.8 cm (each), in the Cleveland Museum of Art, accession number 1970.4.