Japanese Carved Wood Figure of Kanon, Edo Period

Japanese, Edo Period (1603-1868). Unfinished hand carved wood sculpture (mokuchou) of Kanon (also known as a Guanyin, Buddhist deity or goddess of mercy and compassion) in black accents delineating facial features, draped long robe, and lotus flower stacked base. Figural sculpture rendered in Natabori (hatchet cut) style and with signs of older not active worming. Figure carved out of single block, base composed of separate single block of wood. Apparently unsigned. Approximate height 10.5", width 2.5", depth 2.25".Provenance: From the Estate of Mr. Soichi Furuta, Woodstock, Georgia. Note: Soichi Furuta (1927-2011) was a Renaissance Man of sorts, beginning his career in fine art arena. After attending UCLA, he joined a creative design and packaging firm in New York where he later became president. The firm (Stuart, Gunn & Furuta) was responsible for packaging design for a number of major brands including Michelob, Hershey's, Vicks, and Nestle. Concurrently, Mr. Furuta taught graduate-level courses in design at the City University in New York, later, he served as an adjunct professor of literature at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in North Carolina. Later in life, Furuta penned a dozen books in both English and Japanese with subjects ranging from poetry to translations and even a memoir. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for his book of poetry, "Montefeltro the Hawk Nose" that references the artwork of the Italian painter Piero della Francesca. Soichi Furut Read more…