A JAPANESE POLYCHROME LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF JIZO BOSATSU

A JAPANESE POLYCHROME LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF JIZO BOSATSU

KAMAKURA PERIOD OR LATER, 14TH CENTURY OR LATER

Depicted standing on a rectangular plinth and wearing loose robes, the eyes inlaid in glass and his garments painted in gold, red and dark blue, with long lines of calligraphy in gilt to the front, 48cm.

Provenance: from a deceased estate, Hampshire.

The Bodhisattva Jizo is depicted here as an itinerant monk. He is usually depicted holding a tall shakujo sistrum in his right hand and a tama, a wish-fulfilling jewel, in his left. Jizo Bosatsu is one of the most loved Japanese divinities and he is notably seen as the protector of the souls of children.