Live Auction 11930AN INQUIRING MIND: AMERICAN COLLECTING OF JAPANESE AND KOREAN ART
A set of the Four Guardian Kings
Lot 9

A set of the Four Guardian Kings

Nanbokucho period (14th century)

Closed15 April 2016

Price Realised

USD 281,000

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A set of the Four Guardian Kings
Nanbokucho period (14th century)
The fierce guardian figures modeled in cypress wood in the joined-wood technique (yosegi), elaborately painted with polychrome pigments and gold, in Chinese-style robes and armor standing in a frontal pose on top of a defeated demon or demons, holding scroll, brush, spear, stupa or Vajras, the inlaid crystal eyes painted with black pupils ringed in gold, applied with metal fittings
30 in. (76.2 cm.) high each approx including base

Baron Fujita Denzaburo (1841-1912), Osaka
Fujita Family, Osaka

Specialist note

The Four Guardian Kings are mighty protectors of the Buddhist law. Clad in armor, they stand at the four corners of a Buddhist altar, protecting the principal image. Each represents one of the four cardinal directions. The aggressive stance and grimacing demeanor are standard for these guardians, whose mission is to ward off evil.
The Four Guardian Kings, in similar style, are illustrated in Miho Museum, ed., Omi: Spiritual Home of Kami and Hotoke, exh. cat (Shiga: Miho Museum, 2011), pp. 220-21.