The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 14, 2025

Seated Buddha (lotus pedestal)

1100s

Japan, Heian period

(794–1185)
gilded wood
Overall: 145.4 cm (57 1/4 in.); Figure: 88.2 cm (34 3/4 in.); Pedestal: 57.2 cm (22 1/2 in.)
Gift of Takako Setsu and her husband, Iwao, in memory of her father-in-law, Inosuke Setsu, and his long friendship with Sherman E. Lee 1973.85.c
Location: 235B Japanese

Did You Know?

This figure is depicted with a mudra, or hand gesture, that means "have no fear."

Description

Composed of a number of hollowed-out pieces of wood that were then covered with lacquer and gilding, this sculpture would have served as the principal image of worship in a Buddhist temple hall. The Buddha Yakushi resides in the Lapis Lazuli Paradise of the East, and heals all diseases, including the ailment of ignorance. His left hand once held a medicine jar, while his right hand gestures reassurance. Seated on a lotus pedestal and backed by a mandorla and halo, the Buddha may have once been flanked by the bodhisattvas of the Sun and Moon, Nikkō and Gakkō, and protected by the Twelve Divine Generals, or Junishinshō.
  • ?–1973
    Setsu Takako 瀬津 孝子, Tokyo, Japan, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1973–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • “The Year in Review for 1973.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 61, no. 2, 1974, pp. 31–78. Mentioned: p. 79, no. 196 25152513
    Yamane, Yūzō 山根有三, Shūjirō Shimada 島田修二郎, and Terukazu Akiyama 秋山光和. Zaigai Nihon no shihō [在外日本の至宝 = Japanese Art: Selections froM Western Collections, vol. 8 ]. Tōkyō: Mainichi Shinbunsha, 1979. Mentioned and Reproduced: no. 8, p. 118, pl. 8
    Zenzo Shimizu, "Japanese Sculptures in America and Canada," Bukkyō geijutsu [佛教藝術= Ars Buddhica] , no. 126 (September 1979), part I, pp. 67-88. fig. 4
  • Year in Review: 1973. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 30-March 17, 1974).
  • {{cite web|title=Seated Buddha (lotus pedestal)|url=false|author=|year=1100s|access-date=14 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1973.85.c