Weiner Mihályné szerk.: Az Iparművészeti Múzeum Évkönyvei 8. (Budapest, 1965)

HOPP FERENC MÚZEUM — MUSÉE FERENC HOPP - Horváth, Tibor: Buddha relief with lotus pedestal from the Kamakura period

TIBOR HORVÁTH BUDDHA RELIEF WITH LOTUS PEDESTAL FROM THE KAMAKURA PERIOD The purchases of the Museum in 1963 include: Japan, a Buddha relief, bronze, (height 12,8 cm) on a wooden pedestal consisting of two parts: oval lotus throne {mitsue-rengeza, tripartite lotus pedestal) and inserted round plate, halo, carefully carved and beautifully painted with motifs, enriched with gold plate insertion (height 52,4 cm) (Fig. 1.). The relief was fitted to the middle of the upper round plate, by means of two little pegs applied on its back. Inventary number: 63.44. 1—2 (purchased from a private collector). Owing to their character, the two objects could not have originally belonged together. They have assembled recently, very likely in a Japanese antique shop with the idea of providing the beautiful old wooden pedestal with a suitable decoration placed about its centre since the original inserted plate had been missing or destroyed. Although both objects are to be found rather rarely outside of Japan, either in museums, or in private collections, it seemed worth while for us to deal with them separately, though it may be supposed that both objects belonging to the same period, rank equally among the ryöbu-shintö relics. The art of this has been recently exhibited in a very circumspect and rich assortment by the National Museum in Nara (April 25May 4, 1962) under the title of Jin-butsu yügö bijutsu (The Harmonious Art of Shinto Gods and Buddhas). The little Buddha figures (kebutsu) appear in the Japanese art as early as 623, placed on the halos of the Shaka Triad, made by Tori Busshi (Kyoshinkö, kebutsu-fu)

, or the screen-shaped bronze plate of the Amida Triad, preserved in Tachibana Fujin's shrine, similarly originating from the 7th century. In both instances, the entire halo was produced by casting, and what is interesting to us at present, the little Buddhas were not made separately. On the halos, little Buddhas (,,

Buddhas de transformation du Grand Miracle de Çrâvastî"

1

) can be found mostly carved of wood, or painted on wood, even in the following periods, up to the Edo period. For example: In the Kamakura period, on the combined halo (ikkö-sanzon) of the small-scale Amida Triad of so called Zenkö-ji style, of which two have appeared in the better known publications. One of them had been made of bronze in 1271 1 Buhob, J.: Histoire des arts du Japon I. Annales du Musée Guimet, nouvelle série: V. Paris, Vanoest, 1949. §. 59. 10 Iparművészeti 145