Skip to main content

Shô Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion

(Japanese, dates unknown)
dated 1269 (Bun'ei 6)
Medium/TechniqueGilt bronze; cast from piece molds
DimensionsOverall (Height of figure): 50.3 cm (19 13/16 in.)
Overall (Height to hairline): 38.2 cm (15 1/16 in.)
Credit LineWilliam Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession number11.11447.1-3
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsSculpture
Collections
ProvenanceOriginally owned by Kongorin-ji, Shiga Prefecture; by 1911, purchased by William Sturgis Bigelow (b. 1850 - d. 1926), Boston [see note 1]; 1911, gift of Bigelow to the MFA. (Accession Date: August 3, 1911)

NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.
Head of Buddha
first half of the 13th century
Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion
late 7th–early 8th centuries
Group shot: 2012.931.1-2
Unknown maker
about 1700-1710
Restricted: For reference only
Abd al-A'imma
probably late 19th century
Head of Aphrodite
about A.D. 138–192
Looking glass
1760–75
Looking glass
about 1740
Looking glass
1800–10
Restricted
1800–10
a-c
early to mid-19th century