Bodhisattva and Attendants

Object Details

• 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.

• 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.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Enlightened Beings: Buddhism in Chinese Paintings (September 1, 2012 to February 24, 2013)

  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

  Abel William Bahr (1877-1959) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1300s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Bahr, Abel William

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Chinese Art, Kundika, Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368), Attendant, Bodhisattva

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings