Female Shinto Deity at the UEA, Norwich, UK

This single block carving of polychrome wood shows a slender female form. The carving highlights her long flowing robes, with long sleeves that cover the hands, but which appear clasped at the waist. Shinto deities were rarely represented in art until the foreign Buddhist faith, first introduced in the sixth century, gradually began to stimulate the rival production of paintings and images. Imagery, however, never became a dominant aspect of Shinto worship. Because of the lack of iconography, pieces of this sort are very difficult to identify.   This object is part of Scan The World. Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.