Japanese Bodhidharma Figure Made of Bizen Ware
Sold – no longer available
This piece was a handmade one-of-a-kind work. It cannot be reordered and will never exist in this form again. The page stays online as part of our archive.
You might like these pieces
Details about the sold piece
- Height 11 cm
- Width 10 cm
- Weight 436 g
- Color Brown
- Item Type Figure
- Material Ceramics
- Period of Creation Meiji (1868–1912)
- Style / Tradition Bizen-yaki
- Unique Work Yes
- Wooden Box Yes
No longer available
Description
A dense, almost palpable atmosphere emanates from this seated Bodhidharma figure, whose alert eyes, turned slightly to the side, and gently furrowed brow lend the face a remarkable inner presence. The hand rests loosely on the drawn-up knee, while the wide hood frames the head and gives the entire composition a calm, focused expression.
The unglazed Bizen ware shows the warm reddish-brown coloring typical of this firing technique, in which light and shadow fall especially strikingly across the finely modeled folds of the robe. The facial features are worked out with noticeable care, lending the figure an unusually fine, almost portrait-like effect for Bizen-yaki.
The figure is kept in a specially made, signed wooden box (tomobako) inscribed with Japanese calligraphy, documenting the provenance and careful care of the piece. As a hand-crafted one-of-a-kind piece from the Meiji period, this Bodhidharma figure combines atmospheric density, fine craftsmanship, and traceable provenance – a particularly fitting addition to any collection of Japanese ceramic art.
