Star Mandala
date: label: Date
content: 1615-1868
label: Period
content: Edo period
notes: label: Label
content: Known variously as the Star Mandala or the Big Dipper Mandala, this painting is an Edo period (1615-1868) version of an iconographic concept that was imported to Japan from China in the ninth century. It was employed in Esoteric Buddhist rituals for the purpose of warding off epidemics, averting natural disasters, and prolonging life.
label: Label
content: This mandala offers a visual construct that places ancient astrological systems (the twelve zodiac symbols are depicted on the red rectangle that frames the central image) under the oversight of Buddhist deities. The Buddhist strategy of both honoring and subtly subjugating indigenous or competing beliefs is clearly played out in this image. It proclaims that the transhistorical Buddha, not the stars, controls the fate of the universe and human destiny.
label: Provenance
content: To 1904
label: Provenance
content: Michael Tomkinson (1841-1921), Kidderminster, England, to 1904 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1904 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Michael Tomkinson in 1904 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Original Kakemono Reserved List, R. 438, pg. 14, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Religious Art of Japan (December 18, 2002 to January 4, 2015)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Michael Tomkinson (1841-1921) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Japan
topic: label: Topic
content: Buddhism
label: Topic
content: Edo period (1615 - 1868)
label: Topic
content: mandala
label: Topic
content: Japan
label: Topic
content: throne
label: Topic
content: Aries
label: Topic
content: Cancer
label: Topic
content: Capricorn
label: Topic
content: Gemini
label: Topic
content: Leo
label: Topic
content: Pisces
label: Topic
content: Sagittarius
label: Topic
content: Scorpio
label: Topic
content: Taurus
label: Topic
content: Libra
label: Topic
content: Virgo
label: Topic
content: Aquarius
label: Topic
content: dharmachakra
label: Topic
content: dhyana mudra
label: Topic
content: kakemono
label: Topic
content: Japanese Art
label: Topic
content: zodiac
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1904.389a-c
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Color and gold on silk
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (overall): 119.4 x 71.2 cm (47 x 28 1/16 in)