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Lot Essay
The present example appears to be unique although comparable pavilion form examples are known in the collection of the Summer Palace, Chengde, and a number were included in the exhibition, Buddhist Art from Rehol, The Chang Foundation, Taipei. A closely comparable zitan shrine from the Summer Palace collection, also constructed with characteristic everted eaves but with a gilt-metal Buddhist penba flask atop the domed roof, is illustrated ibid., p. 197, no. 89. Compare also the same everted eaves and coiled gilt-metal dragons along the two front posts of another zitan shrine, ibid., p. 199, no. 90.
The text inscribed on the interior back panel of the shrine is in praise of the Buddhist 'Dashixiang'; the Avalokitesvara who is better known as Guanshiyin (and often abbreviated to Guanyin), 'He who perceives the cries of the world'. This particular deity, regarded as a 'Superior Being' or 'Noble Being', is believed to assume thirty-two manifestations as referenced in the inscribed text which was based on the original calligraphy written by Yu Minzhong (1714-1779). Yu was an influential official at court who gained the title of Zhuang Yuan, the highest graduate of the prestigious Hanlin academy, in 1737, cf. Zhongguo Meishu Jiarenmin Cidian, 'A Dictionary of Chinese Artists', Shanghai renmin meishu chubanshe, p. 14. By 1760, Yu Minzhong was summoned to the Maoqin Pavilion where he was was tasked by Emperor Qianlong to produce a drawing of a pagoda with the use of text from the Huayan sutra to form the pagoda's structural outlines. The Huayan sutra, known simply as the 'Lotus Sutra' or the 'Great Means Expansive Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra', is considered one of the important of Buddhist scriptures. Yu Minzhong's literary abilities undoubtedly propelled him into the inner circle of Qianlong's ministers, particularly by working in the Maoqin Pavilion. The Maoqin Pavilion - situated southwest of the Forbidden Palace - was Qianlong's personal library where the emperor appraised and appreciated paintings in the imperial collection, and it was also a place where he worked on his state papers.
As indicated by the text the present shrine is devoted to Guanyin, a distinctive Chinese cult that was popularly propagated both at Court and among the masses throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. As a sinocised deity, it is perhaps logical for Emperor Qianlong to engage a highly respected minister, Yu Minzhong, to write the tributary text before having it inscribed on the shrine, rather than commissioning the services of the Tibetan high lama, Zhangjia Hutuketu, who was Emperor's main authority in the verification and identification of Buddhist iconographic images at court. Zhangjia Hutuketu, also known as the Rolpay Dorje (1717-1786), was one of the most influential Tibetan Buddhist advisors who supervised the production of many Buddhist images at court and was particularly close to the Emperor through a longstanding relationship which originated from their youth as classmates. A number of similar Buddhist shrines in the Beijing Palace Museum collection are inscribed with Zhangjia Hutuketu's name such as the gilt-lacquered shrine of this same size and comparable pagoda shape is illustrated in Cultural Relics of Tibetan Buddhism Collected in the Qing Palace, Forbidden City Press, 1992, fig. 35-1. The Beijing shrine bears an inscription on the reverse side dated to the forty-fourth year of Qianlong's reign (1779), and accommodates a silver image of the Third Dalai Lama.
Unlike the Beijing gilt-lacquer shrine, the present example has additional gilt-metal stupas. The five spires placed above the domed roof are probably symbolic of the Buddhist Five Directions corresponding to the five directions of space: the four cardinal points and the zenith. Based on Indian cosmology they also symbolise the five members of the historical Buddha. The dedication of this shrine and its unusual construction both indicate a special imperial commission. As the image of Guanyin is commonly associated with feminine virtues such as compassion, gentleness, goodness of heart or purity, it is possible that this shrine was commissioned to celebrate a special gift for a lady or as a birthday presentation to his mark the birthday of Qianlong's birth mother.
The text inscribed on the interior back panel of the shrine is in praise of the Buddhist 'Dashixiang'; the Avalokitesvara who is better known as Guanshiyin (and often abbreviated to Guanyin), 'He who perceives the cries of the world'. This particular deity, regarded as a 'Superior Being' or 'Noble Being', is believed to assume thirty-two manifestations as referenced in the inscribed text which was based on the original calligraphy written by Yu Minzhong (1714-1779). Yu was an influential official at court who gained the title of Zhuang Yuan, the highest graduate of the prestigious Hanlin academy, in 1737, cf. Zhongguo Meishu Jiarenmin Cidian, 'A Dictionary of Chinese Artists', Shanghai renmin meishu chubanshe, p. 14. By 1760, Yu Minzhong was summoned to the Maoqin Pavilion where he was was tasked by Emperor Qianlong to produce a drawing of a pagoda with the use of text from the Huayan sutra to form the pagoda's structural outlines. The Huayan sutra, known simply as the 'Lotus Sutra' or the 'Great Means Expansive Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra', is considered one of the important of Buddhist scriptures. Yu Minzhong's literary abilities undoubtedly propelled him into the inner circle of Qianlong's ministers, particularly by working in the Maoqin Pavilion. The Maoqin Pavilion - situated southwest of the Forbidden Palace - was Qianlong's personal library where the emperor appraised and appreciated paintings in the imperial collection, and it was also a place where he worked on his state papers.
As indicated by the text the present shrine is devoted to Guanyin, a distinctive Chinese cult that was popularly propagated both at Court and among the masses throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. As a sinocised deity, it is perhaps logical for Emperor Qianlong to engage a highly respected minister, Yu Minzhong, to write the tributary text before having it inscribed on the shrine, rather than commissioning the services of the Tibetan high lama, Zhangjia Hutuketu, who was Emperor's main authority in the verification and identification of Buddhist iconographic images at court. Zhangjia Hutuketu, also known as the Rolpay Dorje (1717-1786), was one of the most influential Tibetan Buddhist advisors who supervised the production of many Buddhist images at court and was particularly close to the Emperor through a longstanding relationship which originated from their youth as classmates. A number of similar Buddhist shrines in the Beijing Palace Museum collection are inscribed with Zhangjia Hutuketu's name such as the gilt-lacquered shrine of this same size and comparable pagoda shape is illustrated in Cultural Relics of Tibetan Buddhism Collected in the Qing Palace, Forbidden City Press, 1992, fig. 35-1. The Beijing shrine bears an inscription on the reverse side dated to the forty-fourth year of Qianlong's reign (1779), and accommodates a silver image of the Third Dalai Lama.
Unlike the Beijing gilt-lacquer shrine, the present example has additional gilt-metal stupas. The five spires placed above the domed roof are probably symbolic of the Buddhist Five Directions corresponding to the five directions of space: the four cardinal points and the zenith. Based on Indian cosmology they also symbolise the five members of the historical Buddha. The dedication of this shrine and its unusual construction both indicate a special imperial commission. As the image of Guanyin is commonly associated with feminine virtues such as compassion, gentleness, goodness of heart or purity, it is possible that this shrine was commissioned to celebrate a special gift for a lady or as a birthday presentation to his mark the birthday of Qianlong's birth mother.