Daoist Deities and Attendants

Object Details

• Artist

  Formerly attributed to Liang Kai 梁楷 (late 12th-early 13th century)

• School/Tradition

  Zhe School

• Label

  This scroll belonged to a large set of ritual images used for a Buddhist prayer for the dead called the Water-land Prayer Rite. In this service, paintings of the Buddhist and Daoist divinities and residents of all the six stages of existence (hell, hungry ghosts, beasts, demons, human beings, deities) were brought into a ritual arena. Prayers were then offered for the salvation of all the souls of the dead on land and on water. It was a rite of mourning and reconciliation, one of the most elaborate and colorful. As many as a hundred or more scrolls were used for the most lavish services. Nowadays, most sets of scrolls used for these services are broken up and separated from their original groups, like this one.

  Here the subjects are Daoist masters, accompanied by an attendant. An ecumenical spirit is involved, as Buddhist and Daoist divinities as well as Confucian personages-such as former emperors and officials-are included in the universal prayer. Paintings of the Water-land Prayer Rite were done both at the imperial court and in major temples, and were produced by workshops. The syncretism of combining Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian figures in one painting suited the approach of the Ming court that tried to reach all schools of thought in order to create a broad base of support for the court. Stylistically the figures draw upon early traditions in Song dynasty painting and exemplify the Ming-dynasty court's desire to link its painting traditions with an early high point in the history of imperial art.

• Provenance

  To 1911

  Riu Gu Sai, Beijing, to 1911 [1]

  From 1911 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Riu Gu Sai in 1911 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 825, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. This object exhibits seals, colophons, or inscriptions that could provide additional information regarding the object’s history; see Curatorial Remarks in the object record for further details.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Luxury and Luminosity: Visual Culture and the Ming Court (July 3, 2004 to June 26, 2005)

  In Human Form: Images of the Secular and Divine in Chinese Painting (January 31, 1996 to January 7, 1997)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Riu Gu Sai (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1400s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Sai, Riu Gu

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Worship, Art, Daoism, Chinese Art, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Attendant

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings