A LARGE AND IMPRESSIVE JAPANESE PAINTING OF THE SHAKA TRIAD

A LARGE AND IMPRESSIVE JAPANESE PAINTING OF THE SHAKA TRIAD

MUROMACHI OR LATER, 14TH CENTURY OR LATER

Painted in ink, colour and gilt on silk with the central figure of Buddha Shakyamuni raised on a lotus throne, with a jewelled canopy above him and a double halo behind, his hands in the vitarha mudra; Fugen Bosatsu seated beside him on his white elephant and holding the long stem of a lotus flower, Monju Bosatsu on the other side riding his shishi whilst holding a nyoi sceptre, the Historical Buddha and the two bodhisattvas depicted in gilt; the Shaka Triad surrounded by twenty other guardian deities, protectors of the Sutra and all those who recite it, including Xuanzang (602-664), the translator of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra painted in the lower right corner, the Chinese Buddhist monk holding a scroll and brush, his protector the Great General of the Desert Jinja Daisho standing before him; the central panel surrounded by a painted border of gilt dragons amongst scrolling clouds, and large peony flowerheads amongst scrolling tendrils imitating a silk mount, framed and glazed, the central panel 129.5cm x 57.5cm, 211.5cm x 85.5cm overall.

Provenance: from the collection of Baron Eberhard Bodenhausen-Degener (1868-1918); Baroness Juli (Luli Deste) Bodenhausen-Degener (1902-51) of Schloss Neubeuern, Bavaria; Gottfried Eberhard von Meyern-Hohenberg, and by descent to the current owner, a Lady of title.

Baroness Juli Bodenhausen-Degener (1902-51) was a German-American actress also known under the name 'Luli Deste'. She grew up at Schloss Neubeuern in Bavaria. The castle was owned by her uncle, Jan von Wendelstadt (1856-1909), who was an avid art collector. He often invited her father, Baron Eberhard Bodenhausen-Degener (1868-1918), to stay with him at the castle. Under Jan, the Schloss also became a cultural centre with many German artists and intellectuals visiting him.

Jan brought back a large number of souvenirs from his trips to the East, including Chinese bronzes, Japanese screens, and porcelain. A massive pair of Chinese lion dogs were displayed in pride of place in the gardens of the castle.

See the Metropolitan Museum, New York, access. no. 2012.18 for another painting of the Historical Buddha with attendants with a similar composition dated to the late 14th century.