Docent Talks: Bonten and Taishakuten

Enliven your visit with an in-depth look at a key artwork from the collection. Each twenty-minute talk highlights a single artwork. Bonten and Taishakuten are Japanese guardians often shown flanking a Buddha or bodhisattva. These lacquer statues are among the few surviving images of Bonten and Taishakuten from eighth century Japan.

Meet in gallery 26, Japanese Buddhist and Shinto Art (2nd floor). 

This event is included with General Admission. 

Image: The Buddhist deity Simhavaktra, a dakini, 1736-1795. China; Beijing or Chengde, Hebei province. Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Reign of the Qianlong emperor (1736-1795). Dry lacquer with inlaid semiprecious stones. Asian Art Museum, The Avery Brundage Collection, B60S600. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.