kantai　冠帯

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

Also kanzou 冠繪, tentai 天帯, houzou 宝繪, tenkantai 天冠帯. The ornamental ribbons which hang down from the left and right side of a Buddhist crown *houkan 宝冠 found on bodhisattva *bosatsu 菩薩 figures. The style is thought to be derived from womens' hairstyles in ancient India. Kantai were either made from the same block of wood as the main image, or pieces of wood or metal attached separately. An early example of the latter technique is the *Guze Kannon 救世観音 in Houryuuji *Yumedono 法隆寺夢殿, Nara, where metal ribbons decorated in openwork *sukashibori 透彫 hang down over the chest and arms of the wooden figure. A good example of a statue with wooden kantai carved from the same block is the 9c Juuichimen Kannonzou 十一面観音像 in Kougenji 向源寺, Shiga prefecture. The ribbons hanging down to the knees of the kannon are one of the longest examples of kantai. In some cases kantai were added to statues long after their construction. The Juuichimen Senju Kannonzou 十一面千手観音像 in Rengeouin 蓮華王院, Kyoto, were carved in the 12-13c and the kantai added in the Edo period. Styles of kantai changed with the period in which they were created: pre-13c figures tended to have wide bands that imitated soft cloth, and were more often carved from the same block; later examples were usually separately carved and attached. They were narrow bands with a hard, brittle appearance.

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