Jeff Olson
Director
Korean Art
Lot 749
ANONYMOUS
Seated Amita (Amitabha)
Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), 15th/16th century
Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), 15th/16th century
20 September 2023, 10:00 EDT
New YorkUS$30,000 - US$50,000
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Philip Hafferty
Junior Specialist
ANONYMOUS
Seated Amita (Amitabha)
Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), 15th/16th century
A framed painting, most likely formerly a hanging scroll, painted in ink, colors, and gold on hemp depicting Amita Buddha seated cross legged on a lotus dais dressed in red robes and a green undergarment, decorated in chrysanthemums and scrolling vines, his hands held in a gesture representing the teaching of the law, his hair in tight curls with a large urna on his forehead, a nimbus framing his head encircled by a larger nimbus
52 x 26 1/2in (132.1 x 67.3cm), sight
Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), 15th/16th century
A framed painting, most likely formerly a hanging scroll, painted in ink, colors, and gold on hemp depicting Amita Buddha seated cross legged on a lotus dais dressed in red robes and a green undergarment, decorated in chrysanthemums and scrolling vines, his hands held in a gesture representing the teaching of the law, his hair in tight curls with a large urna on his forehead, a nimbus framing his head encircled by a larger nimbus
52 x 26 1/2in (132.1 x 67.3cm), sight
Footnotes
Provenance
Purchased from Arnold H. Lieberman, Buddhist & Hindu Antiquities, New York, 19 March 2004.
Amita Buddha is the central deity of Korean Pure Land Buddhist worship, whereby a sincere appeal to Amita, merely through the chanting of his name, guarantees salvation and rebirth in his paradise. Thanks to its directness and simplicity the Amita cult grew in popularity among all social classes during the Goryeo Dynasty. In its original format, this painting probably featured two additional deities, Gwaneum Bosal (Avalokitesvara) and Daeseji Bosal (Mahasthamaprapta). For a similar Goryeo-Dynasty example of the Amita triad in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, see: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39882#:~:text=The%20Amitabha%20Buddha%20(Korean%3A%20Amita,upon%20recitation%20of%20his%20name