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Amida Nyorai (Amitabha Buddha)
Amida Nyorai (Amitabha Buddha)

Amida Nyorai (Amitabha Buddha)

CultureJapanese
DateMuromachi period (1392-1573)
MediumLacquered and gilded wood
DimensionsOverall: 110 × 84 × 58 inches (279.4 × 213.36 × 147.32 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number31-141/1
On View
On view
Gallery Location
  • S21
Collections
Gallery Label
Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Light, is the personification of eternal life and vast compassion. Amida is one of the most popular representations of the Buddha in Japan, and all who call out his name are welcomed into his Western Paradise, or Pure Land. The style of this sculpture revives the soft, gentle charm of images from the late Heian period (about 1,000 CE). The large head and the vaguely defined drapery help indicate that it was created at a later date.
Provenance

S. Moritz, Nara, Japan, by July 5, 1931 [1];

Purchased from S. Moritz, through Langdon Warner (1881-1955), by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1931.

NOTES:

[1] "Kansas City - Itemized Purchases in China and Japan, 1932," no. B-25, Harvard Pusey Library, Langdon Warner Personal Archive, box 15, folder 28, copy in Nelson-Atkins curatorial files.

Published References

Art News, Vol 32 (December 9, 1933): 57 (repro.).

Robert Graves, “Introduction,” New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, (London: Hamlyn, 1972): 411 (repro.).

Ross E. Taggart and George L. McKenna, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, vol. 2, Art of the Orient, 5th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973): 100 (repro.).

Zenzō Shimizu, “Japanese Sculptures in America and Canada, I,” Bukkyō geijutsu/ Ars Buddhica, no. 126 (September, 1979): 85, fig. 69 (repro.).

D. Carmody and J. Carmody, Ways to the Center: An Introduction to World Religions, 3rd ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1989): 205, fig. 25 (repro.).


Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.