Wood

One of the oldest materials used by humankind, essential for construction, sculpture, and artistic expression across cultures and time periods.

Japanese Muromachi-period figure of Koki, seated with vase and bamboo backpack, 1400s.

Seated Koki (1400s CE)

Antiquities Asia Ceremonial & Religious Japan

A wooden figure from the 1400s, depicting a vase-bearing Koki in bamboo attire, painted green with gesso and gilded accents.

Japanese Shinto deity sculpture, Heian period (794–1185 CE).

Shinto Deity (900s CE)

Antiquities Asia Japan Sculpture

Shaped in the 900s CE, this wooden shinto figure from Japan’s Usa Hachiman Shrine stands as a kami, marked with faded polychromy.

Japanese Sun Bodhisattva (Nikkō Bosatsu) sculpture, Heian period (c. 800 CE).

Sun Bodhisattva (794-1185 CE)

Antiquities Asia Japan Sculpture

Carved around 800 CE, this wooden figure from Japan shows a Bodhisattva cut from nutmeg-yew, lined with traces of color and gold.