Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Seated Bodhisattva Nyoirin Kannon (Sanskrit: Cintamani Chakra Avalokiteshvara)
Not on view
This sculpture functioned as a surrogate for Ishiyamadera’s main icon, a “hidden Buddha” (hibutsu) concealed behind the altar. It predates the “hidden” icon now at the temple, which replaced an eighth-century sculpture destroyed in 1078, and may preserve something of the original’s appearance.
While many Nyoirin images have six arms, this one has two; its pose is unusual, and it lacks the slightly later “feminization” of Nyoirin Kannon iconography. Pilgrims, especially women seeking assistance with conception, childbirth, marital harmony, and similar concerns, put their faith in the work’s powers. It was to this very sculpture that worshippers of Murasaki’s day directed such prayers.
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