A PAIR OF JAPANESE BUDDHIST SCROLL PAINTINGS

ANONYMOUS
NIJUGO BOSATSU RAIGŌ (THE CELESTIAL DESCENT OF TWENTY-FIVE BODHISATTVAS )
POSSIBLY KAMAKURA, 14TH CENTURY

A pair of Japanese kakejiku (hanging scroll paintings), ink, colour and gold on silk, one painted with thirteen bodhisattvas and the other with twelve; the celestial beings depicted with golden bodies, wearing loose robes and ornate headdresses, descending amongst scrolling clouds, many playing musical instruments; the jikusaki (end cap of the scrolls) made of metal and decorated with stylized lotus flowers and scrolling tendrils; each painting with a tomobako (wood box) inscribed Hachi yon go rei go, Kamakura jidai, nijugi Bosatsu, sofuku (A pair of paintings depicting twenty-five bodhisattvas, Kamakura Period), and labels possibly mentioning the Bigorio Museum or monastery in Switzerland; both 111cm x 57cm. (4)