Posted 2 months ago
mcheconi
(48 items)
These are additional pictures showing:
1- the rock crystal eyes - Gyokugan,
2 - the boat shaped halo or mandorla with cracks and one broken piece reattached with a wire to keep it in place temporarily - Funagata
3 - the back of the funagata, showing antique restorations made with an impregnated cloth glued to the wood, the cracks and break point, the wire used to keep the piece in place temporarily
4 - the lotus base (or throne), showing a once-hidden chamber that was revealed because the lacquer work that covered it is flaking off. The chamber was cautiously opened and revealed the remains of something eaten by bugs. There are remains of insects, eggs and dirt that could be a printed mantra, a paper roll or scroll or other votive object. The remains were stored in a Ziploc bag for future research. Also, the lacquer that covers the lotus base top face, where the Buddha statue seats, is flaking off, revealing that the lacquer was applied over a sheet of paper printed with kanji characters. These lose flakes were also stored for future investigation.
Gorgeous piece, love your detail shown here, Again such a fine find, love the gilt wood carving on the Funagata !~
Hey Phil, thanks for commenting. Yes, it is a special find to say the least. Particularly down here, which isn't a place famous for Buddhist temples. But there's one fact that may explain how a piece like this would be lost in Brazil: we are the home of the world's largest Japanese community outside of Japan. We received a massive migration of japanese families just at the start of the 20th century, so probably this Buddha came with them.
I did not know that. I saw a number of tv shows on Hitler escaping to Brazil and the German community there after the war but a Japanese community is equally intriguing !~
Love it! This reminds me of a piece that I posted a while ago.
Thank you guys for all the love!
@vintagelamp, thanks for the love, I will check your piece.