Shinto Deity, Heian period, 10th century. Zelkova wood. Height: 85.09 cm; width: 48.26 cm; depth: 38.10 cm.Purchased with bequest of Edith Trimble Zinn in memory of her husband, Commander Ralph Theodore Zinn. 1980.95. © Denver Art Museum.

One of the oldest and largest Shinto sculptures outside of Japan, this male deity is carved from a single tree trunk and preserves its original girth without attachments or joinery. Shinto art is sometimes called an “invisible art” because its images and sacred objects were intentionally concealed in shrines, where they were worshiped unseen by devotees.

Provenance : Approximately 1966-1980, Joe Brotherton [d. 2012], Twenty Masterpieces Inc, San Francisco CA; 1980, DAM collection, museum purchase.