Producer unknown to us
Venerable entity of Bosatsu, Bodhisattva (Nyoirin Kannon)
Asia, Japan
Prior to 1882
Wood
Heinrich Botho Scheube (doctor, lecturer)
Purchased by the museum from Scheube in 1909
OAs 04846 a, b
Kannon is a spiritual being from the universe of East Asian Mahayana Buddhism. It is not a deity but an enlightened entity that assists humans on the path to salvation through the cycle of rebirths. Except for the wish-granting jewel (Nyoi hōju) in the right middle hand, the Buddhist symbols Kannon held originally in four of her six hands have been lost.
Botho Scheube, the collector of the object, was a physician and lecturer at the Kyoto Medical School in Japan between 1877 and 1881. During this time, he amassed a collection of nearly 700 objects of Japanese art and artifacts from the everyday culture of the Ainu, acquired through purchases and, presumably, also through gifts from his students and patients. The object was purchased for the museum in 1909.
What motivated the collector to acquire such an extensive and diverse collection is unclear. Perhaps he was already planning a later sale in Japan or had his own plans for a museum exhibition.
Dietmar Grundmann