Eleven-headed Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Jūichimen Kannon)
date: label: Date
content: 13th century
label: Period
content: Kamakura period
notes: label: Label
content: The bodhisattva Kannon is the manifestation of the wisdom and infinite compassion of the universal Buddha. Symbolic of his unlimited capacity to care for suffering beings, Kannon is represented in thirty-three distinct forms. Devotion to one of these forms, that of the Eleven-Headed Kannon, was especially popular among Japanese Buddhists from the ninth century. Indeed, social upheaval and apocalyptic fears that swept through Japan in the eleventh and twelfth centuries intensified cult worship of this welcoming, accessible deity.
label: Label
content: This unusual form is based on a literal interpretation of a passage in Buddhist scriptures that describes Kannon as so overwrought by the sufferings of the world that his head exploded into fragments. Subsequently, his head was reassembled by his progenitor, Amida Buddha. Arrayed on the head are ten small heads, again symbolizing the protective compassion of the diety, and an eleventh head representing the Amida Buddha himself. Strict rules of iconography require three heads to be of bodhisattvas (enlightened beings), three heads to have tusks, three heads to display righteous anger, and a single head to be laughing.
label: Label
content: In the rendering seen here, Kannon descends to the viewer on a stylized cloud formation. This attitude suggests that the painting may have been used to give solace to the ill or dying, a variation of images used to welcome believers into the next world.
label: Provenance
content: To 1904
label: Provenance
content: Yamanaka & Company, to 1904 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1904 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company 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] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Panel List, L. 42, pg. 14, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.
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: Words of Wisdom: Buddhist Calligraphy from Japan (April 1, 2023 to February 25, 2024)
label: Exhibition History
content: Religious Art of Japan (December 18, 2002 to January 4, 2015)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Art (January 1, 1963 to July 1, 1966)
label: Exhibition History
content: Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 1 and 2 (February 25, 1956 to January 1, 1963)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Hanging Scrolls, Ceramics, and Sculpture (October 2, 1947 to January 23, 1951)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Japanese Ceramics and Painting (May 2, 1946 to October 2, 1947)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Paintings Buddhist Etc. (January 5, 1928 to December 8, 1941)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Paintings and Sculpture (May 2, 1923 to January 5, 1928)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (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: bodhisattva
label: Topic
content: Kamakura period (1185 - 1333)
label: Topic
content: Avalokiteshvara
label: Topic
content: Amitabha Buddha
label: Topic
content: Kannon
label: Topic
content: Japan
label: Topic
content: halo
label: Topic
content: varada mudra
label: Topic
content: kalasa
label: Topic
content: kakemono
label: Topic
content: Japanese Art
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: F1904.350
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 (image): 102.2 × 41 cm (40 1/4 × 16 1/8 in)