Images

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=07845A8D3805665A3055ECD54292874469698B7B002C3EE7505F986CE04A721E&s=24247294&se=772068101&v=4&f=1972.158.2_o2.jpg

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=07845A8D3805665A96B5508C23C4ACD5B4C898A2BB61F73F252729E7381080FC&s=24247294&se=772068101&v=1&f=%5C1972.158.2det01_o2.jpg

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=9A99FA1B2EF9B41573316343182429DD1BCF91597A3B27BDA6B9332ACE6550CE&s=24247294&se=772068101&v=1&f=%5C1972.158.2det02_o2.jpg

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=9A99FA1B2EF9B4159A609E0BCDE5F3BFCA1F6B9987FA74A59B3AF07DC3B3858D&s=24247294&se=772068101&v=1&f=%5C1972.158.2det03_o2.jpg

Additional Views

Feb 12, 2009

Guardian Figure: Nio

1200s

Part of a set. See all set records

Japan, Kamakura period

(1185-1333)

Chestnut and cypress

Overall: 167.9 cm (66 1/8 in.)

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1972.158.2

Location

not on view

Description

A pair of guardians usually stands at the entrance of Japanese Buddhist temples. Traditionally, the pair included a closed-mouth figure, one hand displayed as if indicating his potential power, and an open-mouth figure, expelling his full force against evil spirits. Nio figures were usually displayed outdoors, often with just the roof of the entrance gate as protection, and as such were particularly susceptible to weathering.

Provenance

Buddhist temple in Shiga Prefecture, Japan

?–1972

(Yanagi Fine Art Shop, Kyoto, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1972–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1972.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 60, no. 3, 1973, pp. 63–115. Reproduced: p. 98, no. 290; Mentioned: p. 114 www.jstor.org

Nippon no bijutsu (November 1972), no. 78. pp. 105, 106, 111

Shōichi Uehara. "Wooden Statues of Vajrapāni." Kobijutsu 古美術 (December 1972), no. 39, pp. 111–113. Reproduced: plates pp. 105, 106

Zenzo Shimizu, "Japanese Sculptures in America and Canada," Ars Buddhica 佛教藝術, no. 126 (September 1979), part I, pp. 67-88. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 70, fig. 13, and p. 71, fig. 14

Roukes, Nicholas. Masters of Wood Sculpture. New York: Watson-Guptill Publishers, 1980. Reproduced: p. 14

Liebson, Milt. Direct Wood Sculpture: Techniques, Innovation, Creativity. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Pub, 2001. p. 14

Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1972. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 27-March 18, 1973).

Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).

Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - July 2017-January 2018. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 15, 2017-January 2, 2018).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Guardian Figure: Nio|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1972.158.2|year=1200s|access-date=21 March 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.

You are here:

Images

Guardian Figure: Nio

Guardian Figure: Nio

Japan, Kamakura period

Location

Download and Share

Description

Contact us