弥勒菩薩像|Miroku Bosatsu

Unknown

14th century · Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk · Asian Art

Miroku Bosatsu (Sanskrit: Maitreya Bodhisattva), the future Buddha, resides in the Tushita heaven, awaiting rebirth on earth. He usually has a princely appearance and holds a stupa. Legends say that Vasubandhu and Asanga, the great Indian philosophers of the Hossō sect, received teachings directly from Miroku Bosatsu. Shell powder was not used to build up the surface underneath the application of gold, suggesting that the painting was probably produced at the end of the Kamakura period, before that practice became prevalent.

Artist

Unknown

Date

14th century

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929