gyougetsukei　仰月形

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

A smile found on Buddhist images, where both ends of the mouth curve upwards into the shape of a crescent moon. This smile is often seen on Chinese statues from the Six Dynasties period and Japanese works from the Asuka and early Nara periods. An example is the Yumedono Kannonzou 夢殿観音像 (see *Guze Kannon 救世観音) in Houryuuji 法隆寺, Nara. The same expression is also found in ancient Greek statues, and is known in English as the "archaic smile".

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