Advanced Search 
四天王像 多聞天
Four Guardian Kings (Tamonten, the Guardian of the North)
四天王像 多聞天
Chōmyō (Japanese, active 1233–1295)
Japanese
Kamakura period
13th century
Medium/Technique
One of a set of four panels; ink, color, and gold on silk
Dimensions
148.3 x 73.2cm (58 3/8 x 28 13/16in.)
Credit Line
Fenollosa-Weld Collection
Accession Number11.4061
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsPaintings
Catalogue Raisonné
MFA, Japanese Masterpieces (2012), #16; Kajima Foundation MFA cat. 1 (Japanese ed. 1997, English ed. 1998), ch. I (Buddhist & Shinto ptg.), no. 41 (4)
ProvenanceAbout 1253, probably made for Uchiyama Eikyū-ji temple complex, Nara, Japan; about 1868, probably removed from Eikyū-ji [see note]. Ernest Francisco Fenollosa (b. 1853 - d. 1908), Salem, MA; 1886, sold with the Fenollosa collection to Charles Goddard Weld (b. 1857 - d. 1911), Brookline, MA; 1911, bequest of Charles Goddard Weld to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 7, 1911)
NOTE: This was probably removed during the Meiji era (1868-1912), at which time many Buddhist temples lost much of their financial support and were separated from Shinto shrines; their contents were often sold or otherwise dispersed before they were disbanded. Collector Ernest Fenollosa believed it came from the temple Tōdai-ji, Nara, where it could have been transferred.
NOTE: This was probably removed during the Meiji era (1868-1912), at which time many Buddhist temples lost much of their financial support and were separated from Shinto shrines; their contents were often sold or otherwise dispersed before they were disbanded. Collector Ernest Fenollosa believed it came from the temple Tōdai-ji, Nara, where it could have been transferred.