JAPANESE AND KOREAN ART 23 march 2022

707
706
706
A GILT-BRONZE AND WOOD KAKEBOTOKE
(BUDDHIST VOTIVE PLAQUE)
Kamakura period (1185-1333), early 14th century
The deity carved in wood and shown seated on a lotus pedestal, the
right hand positioned to hold a now-missing attribute, with traces of
pigment and gilt, the figure flanked by two offerings of lotus blossoms
and set before a peaked nimbus above flowing water and a beast
mask, all in bronze with traces of gilding, the arrangement mounted on
a circular plaque banded with a bronze rim carved with scrolling vines
and with two suspension clasps formed as shishi (lions)
With a wood tomobako storage box
12in (30.5cm) diameter
$3,000 - 5,000
707
A GILT-BRONZE EGORO (LONG-HANDLED RITUAL CENSER)
Kamakura period (1185-1333), 13th/14th century
The gilt-bronze censer with a long L-shaped handle decorated with
scrolling vines on a nanako ground, weighted on the end with a bridgepost
shaped counter balance, the circular ash cup cast with straight
sides rising to an everted rim and set on a chrysanthemum-form base,
the handle joint decorated with a nyoi head-shaped flourish decorated
with scrolling vines and pierced with openwork, the hinged, domed cover
pierced with clouds and stylized cranes and finished with a jewel-form finial
13 3/16in (33.5cm) long
$2,000 - 3,000
708
A LARGE KEMAN (BUDDHIST PENDANT ORNAMENT)
Edo period (1615-1868), 18th/19th century
Of rounded-rectangular form in gilt metal with mineral pigment on
the surface with carved in openwork of lotus blossoms and leaves
arising from swirling waters, a cord knotted in the center with a central
blossom floret and two pendant loops, the surface engraved with
details, the hanger and bracket with scrolling vines and a nanako
ground, fitted with hanging garland strands of blossoms, colored
beads, and bells of various shapes, inscribed next to the cords and on
the reverse with the names of the parishioners who made the offering
With a wood tomobako storage box
42 1/2 x 15 1/8in (108 x 38.4cm), including garlands
$2,500 - 3,500
708
Keman comes from the Sanskrit word kusumamala, which literally
means “garland of flowers.” Keman are pendant decorative disks,
suspended from the beams of a temple, above a Buddhist statue,
and are usually in the shape similar to an uchiwa round fan. They
are thought to have their origin in the garlands of fresh flowers that
were offered to nobles in ancient India. In Buddhism, the lotus flower
represents enlightenment and purity, as its flower and leaves are
unstained and beautiful despite arising from the muddy water.
102 | BONHAMS