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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 20h

Early 20th century travelers reported seeing a Burmese pagoda that appeared to rock in the wind. The Sampan Pagoda stood atop a huge boulder in eastern Myanmar, but it seemingly no longer survives, leaving a few photographs as the last evidence of its existence. 🧵 🗃️ 📜 #Myanmar

A textured halfton-lithographic image shows a tall, tiered golden stupa or shrine rising from a large, dark, weathered rock. The structure is centered and tapers upward into a narrow spire that extends beyond the top edge of the image. Its broad lower tiers have curved, horizontal bands in gold, olive, and dark brown. The rock has an irregular, rounded shape with mottled gray, brown, and black surfaces and rests on a darker base. Behind it is a bright turquoise-blue sky with wispy white clouds and a pale peach-colored horizon. The image has a grainy, painterly texture.

A vintage color postcard shows a tall, gold-colored pagoda standing on a large, dark, rounded rock formation. The pagoda has a tiered, conical spire with ornate bands and a pointed finial. A single person stands among pale rocks in the lower-left foreground, providing a sense of scale. Behind the formation, hazy mountains extend across the horizon beneath a bright blue sky with thin white clouds. The image has worn edges and a faded, textured appearance. A white caption strip along the bottom identifies the site.

Transcribed Text:

The Sampan Pagoda — Shwegyen.

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 20h

The Sampan Pagoda should not, however, be confused with Myanmar’s better-known Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, located in the adjacent Mon State. These two pagodas were reportedly the only ones in Myanmar built atop balancing rocks. #buddhasinthewest

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 20h

According to one account, the pagoda was built by a wealthy Burmese merchant who made his fortune in the timber trade. The solid brick structure stood about 12 feet high and was crowned by the characteristic Burmese hti, or umbrella spire.

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 20h

This vibrant postcard was published by the Rangoon-based D. A. Ahuja, using a lithographic-halftone hybrid process. Issued after 1902, the caption on the front places the pagoda in Shwegyin, in the Bago Region, not far from the Sittaung River, which was used to float timber to the bay.

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 20h

The pagoda takes its name from the rock beneath it, which was said to resemble a sampan, the small boats traditionally used in Burma and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. If a pilgrim successfully rocked the structure, so it was claimed, their “prayers” would be answered.

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 20h

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

This late-19th-century image shows five religious icons from a San Francisco “joss house,” a rare interior photograph of a building lost in the 1906 earthquake. Despite the postcard’s generic caption, we can now identify this as the main altar of the Lung Kong temple. 🧵 🗃️ 📜 #SanFrancisco

A richly colored postcard depicts five bearded figures in ornate traditional Chinese-style robes and elaborate headdresses, arranged in front of a shrine-like interior. The central figure stands elevated behind a pale carved altar or pedestal and wears a tall floral headdress, a dark outer robe, and a light blue patterned garment. Two figures stand or sit on either side of him, while two additional figures are partially cropped at the far left and right edges. The figures have long black beards, colorful embroidered clothing, and decorative headpieces adorned with flowers and foliage. Dark leafy plants and floral arrangements fill the background against vertically paneled gray walls. Several reddish-brown wooden platforms and pale plaques with dark writing appear along the bottom of the image.

A colorized postcard shows the interior of a Joss temple in San Francisco. Five elaborately dressed, bearded figures sit in a row on an ornate altar or platform, with one figure elevated at the center and four seated lower on either side. Their robes are predominantly pale blue and white with dark, patterned details, and several figures wear tall headpieces. Floral arrangements, decorative objects, carved woodwork, framed panels, and dark wooden furniture surround the figures. The postcard has a white border with red lettering.

Transcribed Text:

San Francisco,
California.

35

Charles S. Weidner, Photographer, San Francisco.

Five Idols in the Holy of Holies. Joss Temple.

Smashed and reduced to ashes by earthquake and fire Apr. 18, 1906.

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

To see a survey of the kinds of icons enshrined in early Chinese American temples, including Buddhist figures, see the “Map of Temples in San Francisco’s Chinatown: 1850s–1906,” viewable here: tinyurl.com/ykyaas2d #buddhasinthewest

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Chinese immigrants did not necessarily establish temples to enshrine Buddhist icons. Shrine halls were often managed by various social organizations—district associations, clan associations, fraternities, and guilds—each of which could have its own patron deity or other revered figures.

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The original photograph was taken in 1887 by San Francisco-based photographer Isaiah West Taber. In the early 1900s, this image was licensed by two popular San Francisco-based postcard publishers, Edward H. Mitchell and Charles Weidner, the latter seen here.

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The Lung Kong Association served four Chinese immigrant surname groups that came to America—Liu 劉, Guan 關, Zhang 張, and Zhao 趙. Each family was connected to legendary heroes of the Three Kingdoms period, symbolized by the five enshrined icons: Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Zhuge Liang.

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

After the decline of the professional photography studios, the statues found a new life in photographic form as souvenir postcards, carrying the extraordinary interior of Sanjūsangen-dō to audiences around the world.

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Each intricate Kannon statue—now more than 800 years old—is carved from Japanese cypress and covered in gold leaf, details brought to life in the hand-colored photograph. French novelist Pierre Loti visited Sanjūsangen-dō in 1885, describing it as “the astonishment of astonishments.”

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Drawing on the skills of craftsmen trained in woodblock-print workshops, photography studios also produced hand-tinted versions of their photographic prints. This pair, likely made in the 1890s, has not yet been associated with a particular photographer or studio.

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Built in the 12th century, Sanjūsangen-dō houses rows of Kannon images along the length of its 120-meter-long main hall. Around the 1880s, Japanese photography studios began offering views of the interior, emphasizing the ordered ranks of multi-armed Kannon figures fading into the distance.

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

By the late 17th century, Europeans already knew of Kyoto’s Sanjūsangen-dō, but photography opened its extraordinary collection of Buddhist figures to a much broader audience. It was an almost unimaginable religious spectacle: a thousand gilded figures gathered together in a single space. 📜 🗃️ #Japan

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Commissioned by a local paper merchant in 1891, the Hyōgo Daibutsu at Nōfuku-ji was among the largest Buddhist statues in Japan at the time. Not far from Kobe Harbor, the icon became a favored tourist destination in the early 20th century, but it is remembered only through photographs today. 🧵 🗃️ 📜

A large gray stone statue of a seated Buddhist figure fills the center of the image. The figure has closed eyes, a calm expression, textured rows of tightly curled hair, and a draped robe with layered folds. Its hands rest together in its lap. A small, spreading tree partially overlaps the statue on the right, while flowering plants with muted red, white, and green foliage fill the foreground. Behind the statue is a softly colored sky in pale blue, pink, and beige, with sparse branches and vegetation along the edges.

A vintage color postcard shows a large seated Buddha statue beside a traditional Japanese temple complex. The gray Buddha occupies the left side of the image, with tightly patterned curls on its head, lowered eyes, and layered robes. At center and right are temple buildings with sweeping blue-gray tiled roofs, ornate roof decorations, and dark wooden structures. Pine trees, shrubs, stone lanterns, grave markers, and other stone monuments fill the foreground. A utility pole with a decorative lamp stands near the right side. The sky is pale blue with a warm pinkish tint near the horizon. Red text appears along the bottom edge.

Transcribed Text:

Nofukuji Temple Hyogo.

兵庫能福寺大佛

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The Hyōgo Daibutsu was dismantled under the Ordinance on the Collection of Metals issued as part of Japanese war efforts during WWII. To view a pre-war Japanese map of Kobe advertising the Hyōgo Daibutsu as a local landmark, visit here: tinyurl.com/2uwv2dhv #buddhasinthewest

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Closer inspection of the photograph reveals an additional statue, perhaps of Jizō Bodhisattva (and a group of children elsewhere). When applying the wash for the sky, the hand colorist likely used a stencil blocking out the buildings and statue, but painted over the top half of the telephone pole.

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This postcard can be dated to March 1907–March 1918 based on the design of its reverse. The anchor trademark in the stamp box is associated with the Kobe publisher Akanishi Manyūdō, which specialized in postcards depicting local sights. #赤西萬有堂

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Some Western guidebooks were unfavorable in their assessment of the colossal bronze, claiming the statue lacked “artistic merit” and was “decidedly inferior” to the Daibutsu at Kamakura. The religious importance of such objects was rarely noted in contemporary guides.

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

In the late 18th century, British imperial expansion fueled an appetite for accounts of distant lands and cross-cultural encounters. Readers eagerly consumed vivid travel narratives, often illustrated with engravings of religious “exoticism.” 🧵 🗃️ 📜 #China

A black-and-white engraved illustration shows a large, bearded humanoid figure seated or standing in the center, surrounded by numerous much smaller people. The figure wears a tall, pointed cap, a broad layered garment decorated with rows of circular trim, and a sunburst-like hem at the bottom. Its face has prominent eyes, a long nose, a mustache, and a full beard. Several curving, handwritten-looking marks appear on the figure’s lower garment. Crowds of robed or formally dressed people fill the sloping terrain on both sides and gather around the figure’s base. Draped fabric or a canopy extends across the upper background, while heavily crosshatched lines create texture throughout the scene.

A black-and-white engraved print presents two religious scenes within an ornate rectangular border. A heading appears above the scenes, and explanatory captions are printed below.

In the left panel, a large multi-armed figure identified in the caption as Amida stands on a pedestal. The figure wears a tall pointed headdress, layered robes, necklaces, and a large circular ornament around the lower body. Numerous small worshippers kneel or stand in rows around the figure. Draped fabric hangs overhead, and a large blank rectangular panel and smoking vessels appear near the bottom.

In the right panel, a seated figure identified as Confucius appears on a raised platform, surrounded by several robed attendants or worshippers. The central figure wears a tall, patterned headdress and a sash marked with characters. Hanging panels with vertical inscriptions and small suspended objects fill the background. Several people gather on the stepped platform below, with tall incense burners emitting smoke.

Transcribed Text:

Engraved for PORTLOCK'S. New COLLECTION of VOYAGES & TRAVELS.

One of the forms in which AMIDA is worshipped
by the people of JAPAN and TARTARY.

The Image of CONFUTIUS with the SUTANGS,
as exhibited in the College of the CHINESE.

Published by Alexr Hogg. May 10. 1794.

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The icon's three visible heads, beard, and tall headpiece suggests the original image may have been the deity Brahma (Bonten in Japanese) wearing a crown. For more on 18th century British travel writing, see Margaret Hunt's "Racism, Imperialism, and the Traveler's Gaze" (1993). #buddhasinthewest

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Kircher's "Amitabha" was originally labelled as a "Japanese deity" and was likely copied from a drawing or image in the Jesuit archives in Rome. The lower half appears to be a poor rendition of a figure seated cross-legged on an open lotus flower. 5/6

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The other half of the composition, reputedly depicting Confucius, was likewise copied from Picart. Both images have an even older history and were first used by the Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher in the 1650s; the image of Confucius was labelled simply as an "Indian deity." 4/6

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Publisher Alex Hogg did not commission illustrations based on the Macartney Embassy reports, however, but reused imagery from previously published works. This icon, reputedly of Amitabha Buddha, was copied directly from Bernard Picart's Ceremonies and Religious Customs of the World from 1728. 3/6

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

William Henry Portlock’s A New Collection of Voyages and Travels was published in London in 1794. It included accounts of the Macartney Embassy, the first British diplomatic mission to China, undertaken in 1793. 2/6

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Digital archive contains over 150 micro-studies on objects created between 1666 and 1952. Visit the main project page here: buddhasinthewest.com

Text says: 150+
archived micro-studies
on Buddhist imagery
17th c. engravings
19th c. photography
Victorian trade cards
Lantern slides
Early Postcards
& more

Text says: Western knowledge of
Buddhism was not
produced through
texts alone.
It was also produced
by the reproduction,
commercialization, and
reinterpretation of
Buddhist images and
obiects.

Text Says: Buddhas in the West Material Archive

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

🌟 Series 5 returning Monday, Sep. 28th. 🌟 24 new objects exploring the circulation of Buddhist material culture, to be published through end of November.

Image shows frame filled with multiple engravings, photographs, postcards, stereoviews - and a box of incense - all bearing images of Buddhist material culture.

This is overwritten by "Series 5," "Returning Mon, Sep. 28," and "Buddhas in the West."

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

The Under Gods project published 25 essays for America’s 250th celebration, including a fun one by Elijah Siegler, “Gods on the Menu,” which takes readers on a US road trip “in search of the gods of Chinese restaurants”: www.undergods.org/1985

undergods.org

Gods on the Menu | Under Gods

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I was especially delighted to see a pair of Chinese restaurant postcards from my Buddhas in the West collection featured in Elijah’s essay!

Image showing a collage of postcards of Chinese restaurant interiors where altars or statues are visible.

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

undergods.org

Gods on the Menu | Under Gods

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

The rise of popular theatrical revues and silent film helped glamorize the notion of the "idol." The masculine "matinee idol" of Victorian theater increasingly gave way to female stars, sometimes depicted in poses reminiscent of a seated Buddha—playing on the double meaning of the word idol. 🧵 🗃️ 📜

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Seated upon a pedestal like a sacred image, the woman becomes an object of worship in a distinctly modern sense, the glamorous idol of popular entertainment. For more on the rise of celebrity culture, see Rohan McWilliam's "The Gaiety Girl and the Matinee Idol" (2023). #buddhasinthewest

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Published as an "Oriental" foxtrot, "Idol" exemplifies how early 20th popular culture blended fascination with Asian religious imagery and theatrical glamour into a single commercial image. 5/6

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

The lyrics by Richard Coburn play on the ambiguity of a religious idol "from some heathen land," and the idol of one's personal affection, with lips that "someone should be kissing." 4/6

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Small details suggest Spinelli was not just depicting a woman sitting cross-legged; the censer evokes Asian religious imagery, encouraging viewers to read the figure as a devotional icon. Instead of the Buddha's earth-touching gesture, however, the woman appears to be adjusting her slipper. 3/6

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Shown here is the cover of the sheet music for "Idol (Just Let Me Worship You)," composed by Vincent Rose in 1919. Artist Laurence Spinelli drew upon visual conventions familiar from promotional materials for the Ziegfeld Follies and other theatrical spectacles featuring glamorous showgirls. 2/6

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Among the earliest European images of Buddhist monks are the copperplate engravings appearing in late 17th travel books. This curious assortment of figures comes from the 1665 French edition of An Embassy of the Dutch East India Company by Johannes Nieuhof. 🧵 🗃️ 📜

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

An accompanying monk wears garments that appear closer to recognizable Buddhist monastic attire, including a mala draped around his neck. Yet even here, his shaven head is rendered in a distorted manner, preserving an air of uncanniness that pervades the entire vignette. #Buddhasinthewest

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

The monk himself, however, is dressed rather oddly. He wears loose robes, striped stockings, and pointed slippers with exaggerated upturned toes. His broad-brimmed headpiece likewise seems to owe more to artistic imagination than direct observation. 4/6

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Some elements of this scene are immediately recognizable. The monk seated at the center is shown striking a wooden fish, a hollow wooden percussion instrument used to maintain rhythm during ritual chanting. 3/6

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Nieuhof accompanied the first Dutch diplomatic mission to China in 1657, and his account became the first illustrated book devoted to China. Many of the engravings were based on sketches he made during the journey, though they were later reworked by European artists and engravers. 2/6

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

With bulging eyes, flared nostrils, and straining veins, the Niō guardians stand frozen mid-roar. Placed at temple entrance gates, the Niō serve as spiritual sentinels, warding off malevolent forces and reminding visitors they are crossing into sacred space. 🧵 🗃️ 📜 #Japan #仁王

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Buddhas in the West Material Archive @buddhasinthewest.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

It is said that Agyō voices the sacred syllable “A,” the first sound of the Sanskrit alphabet and a symbol of cosmic origin. For more Niō scuplture in Japan, see Raymond Lam's article "Lives of the Busshi," here: tinyurl.com/y57nayj9 #Buddhasinthewest

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