A GILT WOOD FIGURE OF AMIDA NYORAIJapan, 18th-19th century, Edo period (1615-1868)Amida standing on a lotus dais raised on a compressed globular section carved in openwork with a Dharmachakra and foliage over a leafy base supported by a shishi seated in a recumbent pose atop an elaborate stepped circular pedestal with lotus and foliate designs. He is wearing a loose-fitting monastic robe draped over both shoulders, opening at the chest and cascading in voluminous folds. His hands are held in raigou-in mudra, welcoming the dead into his Pure Land. His serene face with heavy-lidded downcast eyes below gently arched eyebrows centered by a glass or rock crystal byakugo (urna), a broad nose, full lips, and a thin painted mustache, flanked by long pendulous pierced earlobes. His hair is arranged in tight curls over the domed ushnisha with a further glass or rock crystal inlay. The kohai (aureole) behind him with swirling clouds and a central lotus flower.HEIGHT 78 cmCondition: Good condition with minor wear, few minor age cracks, minor old repairs, light surface scratches here and there, the mandorla with few minor chips and a small loss.Provenance: From a German private collection.The sculpture represents Amitabha, known in Japanese as Amida Nyorai, or the Buddha of Limitless Light. Amitabha reigns over the Western Pure Land, a paradise to which anyone is welcomed if they faithfully and sincerely incant his name. This place of salvation became central to the Jodo [lit. Pure Land] sect of Buddhism. Propounded in 1175 by the monk Honen, the accessibility of such tenets of redemption allowed this form of Buddhism to proliferate across the nation and feudal classes of Japan. Often depicted with an elaborate mandala, the boat-shaped halo is said to remind his followers that he serves as a guide for them to cross the ocean of suffering which contaminates the living.