Sutra Box with The Peacock Wisdom King
The lid of this deep lacquer box is embellished with the Peacock Wisdom King (Japanese: Kujaku Myōō, Sanskrit: Mahamayuri Vidyaraja), a rare iconography in Japanese lacquer art. The Great Peacock King is a bodhisattva of Indian origin and the only female Wisdom King in Mahayana Buddhism. The Peacock Wisdom King is believed to have the power to protect devotees from poisoning, either physical or spiritual, including desire, ill will, and ignorance as in India the peacock is known to eat poisonous snakes and turn the poison into beauty. In Japan, the deity was also responsible for averting disasters, illness in the imperial family, and for safe childbirth of the empress. On this box she is represented as a beautiful, feminine figure with exquisite jewelry and richly embellished garments on a lotus throne riding on the back of a peacock, which has spread out its tail feathers behind the deity to create a unique mandorla. The Wisdom King and her avian vehicle are depicted in great detail, taking advantage of several lacquer techniques, mainly the polished back togidashimaki-e, line and needle drawing, very fine and sophisticated inlays of meticulously cut gold and silver foil. Very few modern lacquer artists have possessed this level of mastery over both materials and techniques. This fact, along with the style of the work and the careful selection of the gold powders used, leave little doubt that the box is the work of Shirayama Shōsai (1853–1923), an Imperial Household Artist, who was well-know of his excellent togidashimaki-e works and for his careful attention to the precious metal powders used.
Artwork Details
- 孔雀明王蒔絵経箱
- Title: Sutra Box with The Peacock Wisdom King
- Artist: Attributed to Shirayama Shōsai 白山松哉 (Japanese, 1853–1923)
- Period: Meiji period (1868–1912)
- Date: ca. 1910
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Lacquered wood with gold and silver togidashimaki-e, gold and silver foil applications, and mother-of-pearl inlay
- Dimensions: H. 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm); W. 9 3/8 in. (23.8 cm); D. 11 7/8 in. (30.2 cm)
- Classification: Lacquer
- Credit Line: Purchase, Diane and Arthur Abbey Gift, 2020
- Object Number: 2020.256a, b
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Suzuki Gorō
ca. 1997
Akiyama Yō 秋山陽
2020
Tsujimura Shirō
2002
Kitaōji Rosanjin 北大路魯山人
ca. 1950s
Murose Kazumi
2015
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.