Head of a bodhisattva, unknown maker from China

Episode 286 (revised Episode 16). I’m David Cateforis with another Art Minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. The Spencer's Asian gallery features numerous examples of Buddhist art. Within certain forms of Buddhism, bodhisattvas play an important role. As enlightened beings who have renounced Buddhahood, they remain on earth to extend compassion to believers and help them attain salvation. The wooden Head of a Bodhisattva in the Spencer comes from a figure that originally stood over twelve feet tall - a type that was popular in China during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The heavily-lidded eyes are downcast in a meditative expression, while the high, arching eyebrows and small nose and mouth emphasize the deity’s full cheeks; the harmonious integration of these features creates a quality of pure calm and serenity. Physical indications of the figure’s bodhisattva status are the elongated earlobes, the high topknot on the head, and the indentation between the eyes, which once held a jewel. The figure was originally painted in naturalistic skin tones, but the pigment has since worn away. What remains is the natural pattern of the woodgrain, which reveals that the artist composed the sculpture in near-perfect symmetry. With thanks to Hillary Pederson for her text, from the Spencer Museum of Art, I’m David Cateforis.