An anonymous party represented by Mitsukoshi Ltd., a company that operates department stores, recently made history by making this statue the most expensive piece of Japanese or Buddhist art ever auctioned.
The twenty-six inch, gold-painted statue, thought to be sculpted by Kamakura-period (1185–1333) artist Unkei, depicts a seated Dainichi Nyorai sun goddess. While it was expected to sell for less than $3 million at the Christie’s auction where it was sold, the sculpture went for a stunning $14.38 million. The buyer may have been one of many concerned that this unique cultural artifact would be kept outside of Japan following the auction. Considering the fact that the auction house was headquartered in Britain while the auction itself took place in New York, these concerns don’t seem unreasonable.
Unkei’s work was often done as a commission for high-ranking samurai and other important Japanese personalities in the period. His work on the Niō, a pair of twenty-six foot guardian statues flanking the Great South Gate of Tōdai-ji in Nara, displays a level of realism unseen in the West until much later.
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