Mokkenren - Prewar Japanese Photograph of a National Treasure, Kofukuji, 1912-1930s

Vintage Japanese photograph depicting Mokkenren (Maudgalyayana), one of the ten principal disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha. The sculpture was created around 733-734 AD, during the Tenpyo period, and belongs to Kofukuji Temple in Nara. It is designated a National Treasure of Japan.

The statue originally formed part of the sculptural ensemble of Kofukuji's Western Golden Hall, built under the patronage of Empress Komyo in memory of her mother. Six of the original ten figures of Buddha's disciples survive at the temple. The ensemble is historically associated with the workshop of the sculptor Shogun Manpuku, whose name appears in eighth-century documents preserved in the Shosoin Repository.

Standing 148 cm tall, the sculpture was made using the hollow dry-lacquer technique, characteristic of Japanese Buddhist sculpture of the Nara period. The photograph presents a close-up portrait of Mokkenren, documenting the facial features and surviving surface of the ancient sculpture.

The reverse bears an original Japanese archival record card with handwritten identification of the sculpture, its Tenpyo-period dating, and its location at Kofukuji Temple in Nara.

The photograph is attributed to the prewar Taisho–early Showa period (1912-1930s). From a private Japanese collection of historical photographs documenting works of art.

Size (approx.): 10 × 15 cm.

Condition: Vintage condition, with age-related wear and signs of storage.

Shipping

Safe and tracked shipping from Latvia. Protective packaging.

For US buyers: US customs processing is prepaid through the shipping service, so no additional customs processing payment is required upon delivery.