Five Luohan with Attendants Crossing the Ocean
Terms of Use
Usage Conditions ApplyAt A Glance
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Period
ca. 1610 -
Geography
China -
Material
Ink and color on silk -
Dimension
H x W (image): 146.9 x 81.5 cm (57 13/16 x 32 1/16 in) -
Accession Number
F1911.275 -
EDAN ID
edanmdm:fsg_F1911.275
Object Details
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Patron
Empress Dowager Cisheng (1546-1614) -
Label
Wearing red embroidered robes and bearing a smoking incense burner, the Dragon King stands amid surging waves at lower left, accompanied by a young acolyte and three demon attendants bearing a furled flag and exotic gifts. Above loom five tall, haloed luohan, one of whom—with long eyebrows and leaning on a dragon staff—benignly gazes down at them from the back of a monstrous sea turtle. As with other paintings showing five luohan, this work may have belonged to a set of scrolls depicting all five hundred of the enlightened beings. According to the seal and inscription at upper left, this painting was ostensibly created in 1610 under the patronage of the Empress Dowager Cisheng (1546–1614), an ardent supporter of Buddhism. -
Provenance
To 1911Loon Gu-sai, Beijing, to 1911 [1]From 1911 to 1919Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Loon Gu-sai in 1911 [2]From 1920Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]Notes:[1] See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 840, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. According to Ingrid Larsen, "'Don’t Send Ming or Later Pictures': Charles Lang Freer and the First Major Collection of Chinese Painting in an American Museum," Ars Orientalis vol. 40 (2011), Loon Gu Sai was possibly Lunguzhai, a store in the antiques district of Liulichang.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
Enlightened Beings: Buddhism in Chinese Paintings (September 1, 2012 to February 24, 2013)Guardians of the Law: Chinese Luohan Painting (December 1, 2003 to May 23, 2004) -
Previous custodian or owner
Loon 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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