Wood species and its implication used for wooden sculptures in China

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26350386
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Cultural assets study and museology
• Research Institution: Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties
• Principal Investigator: Itoh Takao 独立行政法人国立文化財機構奈良文化財研究所, 埋蔵文化財センター, 客員研究員 (70027168)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): KOJIMA DAISUKE 公益財団法人大阪市博物館協会, 大阪市立美術館, 学芸員 (50582376)
• Research Collaborator: MECHTILD MERTZ East Asian Civilisations Research Centre, Rsearch Associate
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 仏像彫刻 / 神像彫刻 / 樹種同定 / 中国由来 / 木彫像

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Wood species used for 58 Chinese Buddhist and 350 Chinese Daoist sculptures has been identified in cooperation with 11 forein museum and 1 collector. We tried to analyse the reason of wood selection and compared with the species used for those wooden sculptures in Japan. Paulownia, Tilia and Salix were mainly used for Chinese Buddhist scuptures, and Cinnamomum camphora and Lauraceae were predominantly used for Daoist scultures, followed by Populus and Pterocarya. In view of the frequent uses of Chamaecyparis obtusa and Torreya nucifera for Japanese Buddhist and Shindo sculptures, it was presumed that there is a substantial difference of wood species used for wooden sculptures between China and Japan.

Free Research Field

木材科学・文化財科学