Anonymous (Ming dynasty)
A large portrait of a Buddhist Priest
Ink and color on silk, framed; depicting a seated Buddhist priest wearing a black hat topped with a crystal, a red monk's robe (jiasha) held at his left shoulder with a circular jiasha tie, and a black inner robe showing a pattern of dragons chasing pearls, his hands in dhayana mudra resting on his lap, his chair elaborately decorated with ink paintings of scholars and attendants in landscape, at his right side a long plaque with the inscription te ci Chang'an Bifeng jiaohua zhong sheng, his shoes resting on a carved footrest above a carpet with a repeated star medallion pattern, and behind his right shoulder a waisted inlaid lacquer table holding various containers.
65 x 42 1/2in (165.1 x 108cm)
Ink and color on silk, framed; depicting a seated Buddhist priest wearing a black hat topped with a crystal, a red monk's robe (jiasha) held at his left shoulder with a circular jiasha tie, and a black inner robe showing a pattern of dragons chasing pearls, his hands in dhayana mudra resting on his lap, his chair elaborately decorated with ink paintings of scholars and attendants in landscape, at his right side a long plaque with the inscription te ci Chang'an Bifeng jiaohua zhong sheng, his shoes resting on a carved footrest above a carpet with a repeated star medallion pattern, and behind his right shoulder a waisted inlaid lacquer table holding various containers.
65 x 42 1/2in (165.1 x 108cm)
Sold for
US$ 23,750
inc. premium
Footnotes
- This rare portrait of a Buddhist priest impresses by its formal grandeur as well as by the richness of its decorative details. The use of ink wash to indicate the shaded parts around the sitter's eyes and nose lightly softens his intent expression. Both the patterns in the square "rice fields" of his jiasha and on his inner robe show writhing dragons among clouds. The front-facing panel of his jiasha tie depicts a seated Shakyamuni sculpture with hands in abhaya mudra. His chair is richly decorated with painted panels, scrolling peony patterns, and multi-colored inlays. The mother-of-pearl-inlaid lacquer table behind him holds three containers, including a tortoise-shell box, a bronze incense container with a qilin-shaped lid, and a overglaze enamel stickneck vase containing lingzhi.
Legend records a famed Buddhist monk named Shi Baojin, who was summoned to the capital by the founding Ming dynasty emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, gifted with a jiasha and granted the title Bifeng Chanshi (Chan Master of the Blue Peak). The current lot may possibly be a later portrait of Bifeng, painted in the latter half of the Ming dynasty.
Lot heading
Property from the Sarkisian Collection, Denver, Colorado
Category: Asian Art
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Asian Art