Beeld op sokkel van biddende, staande jongeman in boeddhistische kledij, stelt een Kumāra voor, een helper van de boeddha en bodhisattva's. De oorsprong van de figuur is hindoeïstisch, namelijk als Karttikeya, de zoon van Shiva en Parvati. Dergelijke figuren zijn in de laatste eeuwen populair in het Koreaanse boeddhisme vanwege hun decoratieve, vriendelijke karakter. Beeld van speksteen, sokkel van lava.<BR> <BR> Small statue carved out of steatite depicting a young male figure with folded hands. This is a tongjasang, a statue of the Hindu god of war and victory, Murugan (also known as Karttikeya). Murugan is known in Korean Buddhism as Tongja (boy, young man), a translation of his alternative name, Kumāra, meaning ‘prince.’<BR> The pedestal appears to be of different origin than the statue itself. The historical inventory card for this piece states that there was no pedestal present, and it is unknown where the current pedestal made of lava originates from. The records also state that this statue was one of a pair, the other half of which is no longer present. <BR> Like other objects from collection 360, Von Siebold included this object in an object illustration in his work Nippon. It is presented as a set with two other statues, one being the other half of the pair resembling what is probably Avalokitesvara (Kwanŭm posal), the other a larger figure that also resembles a bodhisattva. The only comment Von Siebold makes is that he cannot identify this particular statue, but that it is perhaps a servant of Kwanŭm. The illustration in Nippon also shows that the original pedestal was not made of lava, but more likely of steatite like the statue itself, or perhaps of wood. The drawing also suggests that the figure originally stood on top of a throne of lotus petals, as was common for Buddhist figures.<BR>