Female Shinto Deity
12th century
Medium
Wood with traces of polychromy
Dimensions
25 × 17 × 10.8 cm (9 7/8 × 6 3/4 × 4 1/4 in.)
Classification
wood
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
193243
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, female deities play an equally important role as their male counterparts. The earliest surviving sculptures of female Shinto deities date to the ninth century, and they often form a set with a depiction of the male deity Hachiman, the god of war. The goddesses’ identities are inexact, and such sculptures show a generic woman of the imperial court in secular dress. Here the deity’s stiff pose and blocklike shape recall other sculptures of this type, b...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...