National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

The image on the viewer's right has an avatar on the crown and the one on the left has a water jar, suggesting that they are Kannon and Seishi Bodhisattva and constitute the attendants of the Amitaba trinity. The posture where the body is twisted at the waist and the energetic atmosphere that the images exude show a strong influence of the early Tang sculpturing style. At the same time, the design of a lion and flowers at the front of the lotus stems on the lotus pedestal shows originality and novelty.
Both images, including the lotus pedestals, are created in one cast and are solid. There is, however, a trace of joining something created separately to the area where the tenne (a long cloth), which hangs down from the left elbow of the Seishi Bodhisattva image, detaches from the body (this portion is missing now). Each of the lower bases is also created in one cast. While there are mold cavities over both images and there are big ones in the lotus stems of the Kannon image, the casting finish of both images is good. Gold plating remains over almost the entire surface of both images except the reverse side of the head ornaments and the hair. For coloring, lapis lazuli remains on the hair, vermillion (or Bengala) can be found on the reverse side of the head ornaments and black sumi is seen on the eyebrows of both images. The black eyeballs of the lion at the front of the lotus stems of the Kannon image are also painted with sumi.