Artwork Details
Nationality
Creation Date
Materials
Object Types
Dimensions
19-1/2 in.
Period
Accession Number
Credit Line
Gift of the Alliance of the Indianapolis Museum of Art
Copyright
Collection
Asian Art (Japanese and Korean)
Color Palette
Gallery Labels
韋馱天
Idaten’s appearance is the result of the merging of Skanda, an ancient Indian guardian deity adopted into Buddhism, and the legendary Chinese general Wéi Tuó—hence, his armored garb and his hands folded in prayer. He is the chief of the 32 generals under the command of the Four Heavenly Kings. The inset crystal eyes add a further spark of life to this realistically carved sculpture.
A popular legend describes how after the Buddha’s passing and cremation, a demon grabbed a tooth from among the Buddha’s ashes and fled in an instant more than 300,000 miles. In a single leap Idaten stopped him and regained the relic. In Japanese, to “run like Idaten” (Idaten-bashiri) is to be speedy.
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