Senbutsu Clay Tiles

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Daruma Pilgrims Gallery

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Clay Tiles with Buddha Figures / Senbutsu 甎仏
せんぶつ, 磚仏, せん仏, repousse Buddha figures


SEN 專 means clay tile.

Simple clay tiles, which can be just dried hard or fired. Forms range from anything round to square. The clay is pressed into wooden molds with figures of Buddhist deities. This way, a lot of figures could be produced.
Sometimes they were covered with laquer or godl foil later.

They made their way from India via China to Japan in the 7th century.

These tiles could be used to decorate the interior of a temple. Sometimes they were put into the private altar of a family for daily reverence.

Here is a figure I bought many years ago in India.



In Bodhgaya a young boy came along with this figure, approaching the Japanese tourists saying "This very old, hyaku doru, hyaku doru!" Next he came to us and wanted "Hundred dollars please". I told him: "I am sure your brother made this outside the village, it is worth nothing. I will give you one dollar!"
"Oh, thank you, here you are!" He handed me the statue and I had to pay him.
It now graces my bookshelf to remind me of the foolishness of mankind!

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This one is from a Chinese temple, this time cheap to start with.



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A small face of Ebisu, the God of Good Luck. Sold in a Japanese temple.




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Read JAANUS about Clay Tiles with Buddhist images .

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Tiles From the History Museum in Sennan Town / Osaka

仏像を型押ししたタイル【独尊（どくぞん）せん仏】

Photo

Deity of the TEN group. A bit of black laquer is left on the tile.

甲冑（かっちゅう）に身を包（つつ）んだ天部（てんぶ）の姿が表されています。かぶとの違いや、髪をたばねたようす、背後の頭光（ずこう）などが、細くていねいに表現されています。表面には黒漆（くろうるし）が良く残っており、その上には金箔（きんぱく）もわずかに残っています。

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Barely recognizable, Buddha seated below the Bodai Tree in Meditation. Above the seated statue ther was a large baldachin (tengai).
The form was found near the temples Tachibanadera and Kawaharadera in Nara prefecture.

長方形の粘土板の中央に、菩提樹（ぼだいじゅ）の下で椅子に座り瞑想（めいそう）する如来（にょらい）を表し、如来の両側に合掌（がっしょう）する脇侍菩薩（わきじぼさつ）、かごを持ち散華（さんげ）する飛天（ひてん）が配されています。如来の上には大きな天蓋（てんがい）がかけられています。

これは奈良県橘寺（たちばなでら）や川原寺（かわはらでら）で使用されたせん仏を原型としてつくられたものと考えられ、それらで見つかっているせん仏よりもひとまわり小さくなっているのが特徴です。

...................... Also on this LINK

粘土でできた仏像【土製如来坐像（どせいにょらいざぞう）】
Seated Nyorai made from clay

木と粘土でできた仏像【塑像（そぞう）】
Statue from wood and clay

© Sennan Museum Osaka

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Tile from temple Oharahai-Ji
From the Nara period.
大原廃寺.オハラハイジ
縦5．3cm
仏像を浮き彫りしたタイル。型に粘土を押し込み半肉彫りの仏像をつくって焼成する。寺院の壁面などに貼りつけ堂内を荘厳する目的でつくられた。大原廃寺は、奈良時代の寺院で、講堂跡と推定される建物近くから出土した。如来立像を二段三列に配置した六尊連立塼仏の形をとる。


©　Kurayoshi Town Museum, Tottori

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© Photo Miho Museum

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My Photo Album with more Senbutsu

Making Buddha statues

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