Lotus Temple Carving
Exceptional architectural element from a Japanese Buddhist temple, late Edo or Meiji Period. Such elements were used to ornament the end of beams in the Kondo (“golden hall”), the main place of worship in a Buddhist temple complex. Carved from keyaki wood, with floral elements, including the sacred lotus flower. The mysterious inscription on the base invites your translation!
What are we doing with a piece of a Buddhist temple, you may ask? Japan is home to some of the world’s oldest wooden buildings. However, wood has a finite life, and buildings, including temples, are commonly rebuilt, and elements discarded or recycled. This carving can be displayed as pictured, or hung jutting outward, as originally intended.
Exceptional architectural element from a Japanese Buddhist temple, late Edo or Meiji Period. Such elements were used to ornament the end of beams in the Kondo (“golden hall”), the main place of worship in a Buddhist temple complex. Carved from keyaki wood, with floral elements, including the sacred lotus flower. The mysterious inscription on the base invites your translation!
What are we doing with a piece of a Buddhist temple, you may ask? Japan is home to some of the world’s oldest wooden buildings. However, wood has a finite life, and buildings, including temples, are commonly rebuilt, and elements discarded or recycled. This carving can be displayed as pictured, or hung jutting outward, as originally intended.
Exceptional architectural element from a Japanese Buddhist temple, late Edo or Meiji Period. Such elements were used to ornament the end of beams in the Kondo (“golden hall”), the main place of worship in a Buddhist temple complex. Carved from keyaki wood, with floral elements, including the sacred lotus flower. The mysterious inscription on the base invites your translation!
What are we doing with a piece of a Buddhist temple, you may ask? Japan is home to some of the world’s oldest wooden buildings. However, wood has a finite life, and buildings, including temples, are commonly rebuilt, and elements discarded or recycled. This carving can be displayed as pictured, or hung jutting outward, as originally intended.