Bodhisattva and Attendants

Historical period(s)
Yuan dynasty, 14th century
Medium
Ink and color on silk
Dimensions
H x W (image): 121.8 x 53.6 cm (47 15/16 x 21 1/8 in)
Geography
China
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1913.65
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Hanging scroll (mounted on panel)

Keywords
attendant, bodhisattva, Buddhism, China, kundika, Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368)
Provenance

To 1913
Abel William Bahr (1877-1959), London, to 1913 [1]

From 1913 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Abel William Bahr, London, in 1913 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 930, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Abel William Bahr (1877-1959) was a collector and dealer born in Shanghai, China. After he left Shanghai in 1910, he lived, at various points in time, in London, Montreal, and Ridgefield, Connecticut. He established a gallery in New York City in 1920.

[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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Abel William Bahr (C.L. Freer source) 1877-1959

Label

Bodhisattvas are princely disciples of the Buddha who have attained enlightenment but choose to remain accessible until all sentient beings have been saved. They are therefore saviors, unlike luohans, who are protectors of the Buddha Law. In the Water-Land Prayer rite for which this painting was made, it would have been displayed in an upper chamber among the deities, as of looking down at the mortals below.


An unidentified bodhisattva is accompanied by two young women, one carrying a banner, the other a vase of flowers. The clouds are tinged with gold, and an air of serene, ethereal blessing is conveyed by the image. It was into this realm of serenity that one hoped to be reborn through the prayer rite.


 


To learn more about this and similar objects, visit http://www.asia.si.edu/SongYuan/default.asp Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting and Calligraphy.

Published References
  • Suzuki Kei. Chugoku kaiga sogo zuroku [Comprehensive Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Painting]. 5 vols., Tokyo, 1982-1983. vol. 1: p. 190.
  • Osvald Siren. Chinese Paintings in American Collections. Annales du Musee Guimet. Bibliotheque d'art. Nouvelle serie. II Paris and Brussels, 1927-1928. pl. 186.
  • Scientific Studies of Pigments in Chinese Paintings. Washington, DC. p. 15, fig. 1.7.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting and Calligraphy
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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