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Figure of a Monk
(Japan and Korea )
The inscription under the base of this figure states that it was made for (or perhaps by) Monkan in the year 1347. It likely represents a Shingon priest of this name who lived from 1278-1357 and excelled in the painting of Buddhist subjects. The sculpture's small scale, fine detail, and formal composition suggest that it ws made as a personal devotional object for use at temple feasts and other ritualized functions. It is carved from a single piece of Japanese cedar.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Bunkio Matsuki Sale, Amemrican Art Association, New York, February 8 - 10, 1906, no. 284; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1906, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
Japan, Kyoto (Place of Origin)
Measurements
8 11/16 x 6 9/16 in. (22 x 16.6 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1906
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
61.267