Gyodo mask of Dragon King

early 13th century

This mask of Dragon King, one of the eight guardians, was used in Buddhist rituals. Green skin and bulging eyes are his distinctive features, which, together with the open mouth and sharp teeth, produce a fearsome look.

Wood with lacquer, polychrome and gilt

15 9/16 x 8 1/8 x 5 15/16 in. (39.5 x 20.64 x 15.07 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

68.110

Photo: Paul Macapia

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistoryVancouver, British Columbia, University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology, The Hidden Dimension: Face Masking In East Asia, May 22 - Dec. 1984.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, A Thousand Cranes: Treasures Of Japanese Art, Feb. 5 - July 12, 1987.

Saint Louis, Missouri, Saint Louis Art Museum, Masks: Faces of Culture, Oct. 7, 1999 - Oct. 1, 2000.

Tokyo, Japan, Suntory Museum of Art, Luminous Jewels: Masterpieces of Asian Art From the Seattle Art Museum, July 25 - Sept. 6, 2009 (Kobe, Japan, Kobe City Museum, Sept. 19 - Dec. 6, 2009; Kofu, Japan, Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art, Dec. 23, 2009 - Feb. 28, 2010; Atami, Japan, MOA Museum of Art, Mar. 13 - May 9, 2010; Fukuoka, Japan, Fukuoka Art Museum, May 23 - July 19, 2010).

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Luminous: The Art of Asia, Oct. 13, 2011 - Jan. 8, 2012.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Deities and Demons: Supernatural in Japanese Art, Oct. 20, 2022 - ongoing.

Published ReferencesKawai, Masatomo, Yasuhiro Nishioka, Yukiko Sirahara, editors, "Luminous Jewels: Masterpieces of Asian Art From the Seattle Art Museum", 2009, The Yomiuri Shimbun, catalogue number 6

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