飛天像ApsaraJapan, Heian period (794–1185), late 11th to early 12th centuryLacquered and gilded Japanes
飛天像ApsaraJapan, Heian period (794–1185), late 11th to early 12th centuryLacquered and gilded Japanese cypressApsaras, or hiten in Japanese, are flying celestial beings that accompany Buddhas. These two examples, which display apsaras riding clouds and playing musical instruments, are believed to be part of a group of twelve or fourteen that formerly adorned the mandorla of an eighty-foot-tall statue of Amida at Jōruriji, a Pure Land sect temple in Kyoto. Although the disks and flying sashes are later additions, the apsaras themselves, carved in high relief in Japanese cypress and gilt, are dated to the turn of the twelfth century, when the Amida statue was installed.From the Metropolitan Museum -- source link
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