Figure Daruma Figure Made of Kutani Porcelain in White Robe

A Japanese Bodhidharma figure (Daruma) made of Kutani porcelain, whose brilliant white robe forms an appealing contrast to the fiercely scowling face of the Indian monk. It is precisely this unusual white coloring, which in Daruma depictions is usually rendered in stronger red or earth tones, that lends the face additional expressive power – almost as if the artist had captured the monk's features on the porcelain surface with a few deliberate brushstrokes of calligraphy or Zen painting.

Bodhidharma is regarded as the founder of Zen Buddhism in China and is usually depicted in Japanese art with a piercing gaze and a flowing robe, as a symbol of unshakable determination and meditative perseverance.

This figure combines the fine porcelain artistry of the Kutani tradition with one of the best-known motifs of Zen iconography, making it an appealing collector's piece for lovers of Japanese ceramic art.