Art & design 2-minute look

Find the chisel marks in a sacred figure.

Shinto Deity in the Guise of the Monk Hyeja — Magnolia wood with traces of pigment

Carved from a single magnolia block, this Japanese figure preserves conspicuous chisel marks. It is said to portray Hyeja, the Korean monk who taught the influential Buddhist patron Prince Shotoku.

Source: Art Institute of Chicago

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Image credit

Digital image courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago. Kate S. Buckingham Endowment · Photograph by Daderot (CC0)

Creator: Japan

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