The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Processional Mask of a Bodhisattva

Processional Mask of a Bodhisattva

late 1100s
(794–1185)
wood, lacquered and painted
Overall: 22 x 16 cm (8 11/16 x 6 5/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1950.581
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The most famous welcoming descent procession happens each year on April 14 at the temple Taimadera in Nara.

Description

This ceremonial mask was used in a dramatic enactment of the descent of the Buddha Amida and his entourage to welcome the dying to his Pure Land. The mask represents the face of an enlightened being called a bodhisattva. Performances of the welcoming descent had begun by the early 11th century and continue at some temples today.
  • ?-1950
    (Hollis & Company, Cleveland, OH, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1950-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Milliken, William M. “Important Acquisitions of Japanese Art.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 38, no. 9, 1951, pp. 211–217. Mentioned: pp. 212, 217; Reproduced: [no page number, after p. 212] www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 905 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 274 archive.org
    Rosenfield, John M. Japanese Arts of the Heian Period, 794-1185. [New York]: Asia Society, 1967. Reproduced: pp. 77 and 118, cat. no. 33
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 274 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 370 archive.org
    Lee, Sherman E, Ursula Korneitchouk, Michael R Cunningham, Ursula Korneitchouk, Cleveland Museum of Art, Japan House Gallery, Japan Society (New York, N.Y.), and Japan House Gallery. One Thousand Years of Japanese Art (650-1650): From the Cleveland Museum of Art: Catalogue. New York: Japan Society, 1981. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 24-25, no. 8
    Vilbar, Sinéad. "The Japanese Art Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1915-1951." In Great Waves & Mountains: Perspectives and Discoveries in Collecting the Arts of Japan. Natsu Oyobe, and Allysa B. Peyton, eds., 160–197. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 2022. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 183, fig. 7.18
  • Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 237). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 10, 2013-November 17, 2015).
    One Thousand Years of Japanese Art (650-1650) from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Japan House Gallery, New York, NY (March 19-May 17, 1981).
    Japanese Arts of the Heian Period. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (October 5, 1967-February 19, 1968); Fogg Art Museum/Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (January 17-February 25, 1968).
    Japanese Arts of the Heian Period: 794-1185. Asia House Gallery, New York City, NY (October 5-December 17, 1967) and Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (January 17-February 25, 1968).
    35th Anniversary Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 20-September 30, 1951).
  • {{cite web|title=Processional Mask of a Bodhisattva|url=false|author=|year=late 1100s|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1950.581