CHINA, CHENGDE, LATE 18TH CENTURY

This resplendent painting of Buddha Shakyamuni presents the sage in a verdant landscape in front of the entrance to a temple; the central figure is depicted in dhyanasana on a lotus base over a throne with his right hand in bhumisparshamudra, the gesture of calling on the earth to bear witness to his enlightenment and the left holding an alms bowl. He is resplendently garbed with robes decorated with gilt foliate motifs, and is depicted with typical Qing iconometry, with a small, bow-shaped mouth, wide, almost triangular nose and spiky, blue curls of hair. He is surrounded by a gathering of worshippers bearing gifts or sitting in adoration to the Buddha, and various stories and groups of animals are depicted in the rockwork at left and right. A large temple looms up behind the Buddha, and smaller temple motifs are found in the lower part of the painting. In the sky above, offering goddesses on clouds shower gifts on him, a motif found in paintings from the Xumi Fushou Temple; see, for example, a painting of Ushnishavijaya sold at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2023, lot 345 for $94,500. The vibrant colors, lavish use of gold, and green-and-blue rockwork are all characteristic of late eighteenth-century imperial Buddhist paintings.