Shō Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion

Shō Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the 1100s, the powerful Fujiwara family commissioned one thousand sculptures of Shō Kannon, the primary incarnation of the compassionate Buddhist deity Kannon and a rescuer of suffering souls. Traces of color and gold on this example, which once held a lotus bud in its left hand, hint at the resplendence of the original sculptural tableau. The Fujiwara commissioned the sculptures for Kōfukuji, a Buddhist temple in the ancient capital of Nara that they had patronized for more than five hundred years. The sculptures were dispersed in the nineteenth century and are now held in collections worldwide.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Shō Kannon, the Bodhisattva of CompassionShō Kannon, the Bodhisattva of CompassionShō Kannon, the Bodhisattva of CompassionShō Kannon, the Bodhisattva of CompassionShō Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.