Massive Chinese Qing Ink and Color on Paper Buddhist Painting Framed
$1,000.00
Chinese Qing dynasty ink and color on paper painting executed in three sections to represent the protectors of Heaven, the world of humans, and the earth. The top features three Buddhas seated cross-legged on lotus thrones among clouds with their hands held in various mudra positions. The midsection holds four Bodhisattvas. On the left are Puxian holding a ruyi scepter astride an elephant and Wenshu holding a sutra scroll atop a lion. On the right riding mythical creatures are Guanyin holding a vase and willow twig and Maitreya holding a lotus flower. The four face inwards toward an eight-armed three-headed Zhunti (Cundi) Bodhisattva riding a chariot pulled by boars. One of the sixteen guardian devas of Buddhism, Zhunti’s arms hold weapons and symbols with which she defends the Buddhist faith. The ten Daoist star deities at the bottom stand on both sides of the Dizang Bodhisattva who is seated on a dais dressed as a monk. He holds a staff with which he forces open the gates of the Buddhist hells to empty them. Painting: 69” x 36”; Frame: 72 1/2" x 39.” The painting has been mounted to a firm rectangular backing and framed without glass or Plexiglas. It cannot be removed from the frame and rolled for shipping. Perhaps to stabilize a few tears and worm damage visible, it was coated with a thin layer of clear shellac that has browned over the years. The seal at the bottom left is rubbed and not readable. From an old Phoenix, Arizona family collection.
