Artwork Page for Batō (Horse-Headed) Kannon

Details / Information for Batō (Horse-Headed) Kannon

Batō (Horse-Headed) Kannon

馬頭観音像

early 1300s, pedestal 1600s–1700s

Japan, Kamakura period

(1185–1333)
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Medium
Wood with traces of color and gold; pedestal: wood with lacquer, color, and gold
Measurements
Overall: 110.6 cm (43 9/16 in.); Base: 28 cm (11 in.); Figure: 82.6 cm (32 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1981.1
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

Batō Kannon, or Hayagriva Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit, is the “horse-headed” form of the bodhisattva of compassion, who presides over the realm of animals in the Buddhist Six Realms of Transmigration (rebirth). A horse’s head appears in the hair of this sculpture to identify it. Bodhisattvas are beings who, though enlightened, choose to remain within the worlds of existence to help others. The six realms are heaven, hell, human, animal, hungry ghost, and ashura, or fierce supernatural entities.
A wood sculpture with traces of color depicts the standing deity Batō Kannon. A small horse head rests atop their hair. They wear layered robes draped in deep folds. They hold a cylindrical object in their right hand, while their left palm faces forward. The deity stands on a multi-layered pedestal featuring a dark-lacquered lotus flower base above tiered sections decorated with gold-toned patterns.

Batō (Horse-Headed) Kannon

early 1300s, pedestal 1600s–1700s

Japan, Kamakura period (1185–1333)

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