One thousand Buddhas

Object Details

• Description

  A central image of the Buddha seated on a lotus throne surrounded by one thousand miniature Buddhas, which represent the Buddhas who would appear in the world during a kalpa, an extraordinary long measure of time. This painting once belonged in a set of three nearly identical paintings, which represented the Buddhas of the past, present, and future kalpas.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Religious Art of Japan (December 18, 2002 to January 4, 2015)

  Buddhist Art (May 9, 1993 to August 9, 2011)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1300s

• Name

  buddha

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Art, Japanese Art, Mudra, Nanbokucho period (1333 - 1392), Lotus, Kakemono

• Culture

  Buddhists, Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings