Producer unknown to us
Shakyamuni Sculpture
Asia, Japan
16th century
Bronze; cast
Context of acquisition unknown to us
Purchased by the museum from Carl Hagenbeck (merchant, animal trader) in 1908
OAs 3289
This head is part of a statue that originally stood 270 cm tall. It was part of a three-figure group consisting of Buddha and his two companions: Monju (Sanskrit Manjushri) sitting on a lion and Fugen (Sanskrit Samantabhadra) sitting on an elephant. The group was located in the Amida Temple in Japan's Settsu Province. In 1908, the museum purchased the statue group from Carl Hagenbeck, the Hamburg-based animal trader, zoo founder, and organizer of so-called ”human zoos” across Europe.
In the 1930s, the group was installed in the museum’s newly reconstructed permanent exhibition. However, except for the statue of Fugen, it was destroyed in the bombing of Leipzig on December 4, 1943.
Dietmar Grundmann