The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Shakyamuni

c. 900

Japan, Heian period

(794–1185)
wood with lacquer and traces of color
57.2 x 46.4 x 38.1 cm (22 1/2 x 18 1/4 x 15 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1986.7
Location: Not on view

Description

This image of Shakyamuni, the Buddha, or “awakened one,” who lived during the 500s or 400s BCE, is carved from one piece of wood. The distinctive pattern of thick, raised garment folds is characteristic of Japanese Buddhist sculpture of the 800s and 900s. Shakyamuni’s elongated ears and curled hair are among the physical attributes described in sacred texts that distinguish him as a Buddha.
  • Ito Shobei
    Nakamura Shoichiro, Sakai, Japan
    ?–1986
    (Yanagi Fine Art Shop, Kyoto, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1986–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1986.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 74, no. 2, 1987, pp. 38–79. Reproduced: fig. 227, p. 50; Mentioned: p. 79 www.jstor.org
    “Art of Asia Acquired by North American Museums, 1987.” Archives of Asian Art 41 (1988): 95–110. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 98, fig. 9 www.jstor.org
  • To the River's South in Japanese Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 15, 2023-June 2, 2024).
    Asian Autumn: Later Korean Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 22, 1992-January 3, 1993).
    Year in Review for 1986. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-March 15, 1987).
  • {{cite web|title=Shakyamuni|url=false|author=|year=c. 900|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1986.7