Important Cultural PropertySeated Yakushi (Skt. Bhaiṣajyaguru)

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  • 銅造薬師如来坐像
  • 1 piece
  • Bronze
  • H 37.3
  • Nara period/8th century
  • Nara National Museum
  • 886(彫33)

 It is clear from the curved fingers of the statue’s left hand that it was created as a Yakushi (Skt. Bhaiṣajyaguru) statue holding a medicine pot (yakko). The style represented by the stocky body covered by dynamic clothes, full cheeks and an expression with wavy and slightly up-angled eyes is common to various statues created in the late Nara Period using a wood core dry-lacquer technique (mokushin kanshitsu dukuri) and therefore the era when the statue was created can be identified as being around the same time. The skirt-like cloth (mo) wrapped around the statue’s lower body covers the lotus pedestal and droops down while being caught by the tips of the lotus petals. Although, this style is often seen in statues created in the Tang dynasty in China, very few such statues exist in Japan. This implies that this statue was created under the strong influence of statues from China.
 The features of the body, including the skirt (mo) covering the lotus pedestal, are thickly cast and the inside is hollowed out. Given that no surface gilding can be seen, and the roughness of the skin is noticeable, it is possible that the statue has been exposed to fire. The fingers of the right hand made from wood later.

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