Shōkannon standing on a pedestal of lotus

Statue height 90.5 cm, pedestal (Kokonoe rengendai) 54 cm. The statue is fitted to the pedestal by means of tenons beneath the feet and mortises in the base. The crown and the little Buddha above the forehead can be removed, whereas the other jewels are attached to the sculpture by wires.
The Sanskrit name of this bodhisattva, Avalokiteśvara, describes him as “the Lord who looks down” towards the suffering of humanity; the Japanese version, Kannon, expresses it with a different nuance as “He who hears the voices of the world”. The Shōkannon form is used in Japan to distinguish its older iconography from all others.
The statue can be dated to the late Kamakura period (1185-1333) or the early Muromachi period (1336-1568). Made from lacquered and gilded wood, this sculpture is a work of exceptional importance: the attention to proportion and the technical perfection of the finishing make it a true masterpiece.