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Lot Essay
The magnificent painting is distinguished by its high quality of brushwork, meticulous details and the vibrant mineral pigments. An inscription in the lower left, “Respectfully commissioned by the imperial prince Zhuang,” shows that the painting was the product of the imperial workshop. The first Prince Zhuang (1650-1723) of the Qing dynasty is identified as one of the great-grandsons of Nurhachi, the founder of the Qing dynasty. Prince Zhuang's Manchu name was Boggodo, and his father Shuo Sai was a brother of Emperor Shunzi (1644-1661).
The present paintings belong to a group of paintings from the Shuilu, 'Water and Land', pantheon and were placed on temple walls for specific Shuilu rituals. These rituals were prayers offered to the deities of the Shuilu; and were recited in expectation of the deliverance of mortal creatures of land and water, including those of the living and the souls of the deceased, enter the wheel of reincarnation, and thereby achieving Nirvana. The Shuilu rituals found popularity during the Yuan period, and prevailed into the Ming and early Qing dynasties. From the style and composition of these paintings, early Qing depictions followed closely to those of earlier Ming period. A set of 139 hanging scrolls dated 1460 from the Baoning Temple, Youyu County, Shanxi province, and now in the Shanxi Provincial Museum, is discussed by R. L. Thorpe, Son of Heaven: Imperial Arts of China, Seattle, 1988, pp. 119-23, nos. 53-7. Cf. two related Ming works sold in these Rooms, 6 November 1997, lot 1077, depicting five standing Guanyin; and 3 November 1998, lot 1034, of five figures of Buddha.
Compare to the other paintings from the same series, the first of 'The Venerable Celestial Naga King of the Ocean', and the other 'The Venerable Celestial Goddess Bodhidruma', included in the exhibition, Chinese Imperial Patronage, Asian Art Gallery, London, pp. 30-31, nos. 5 and 6. Two other paintings, one depicting Da fan wang zu tian, Venerable Celestial King Brahma, and the other, Jianmen yuan miaodao zhenjun, Overseer of the Gate, Perfected Being of the Subtle Way, offered at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 April 2007, lot 865. Another painting from the same series depicting the Tiger-taming arhat is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (museum number: FE.2-2010) and another representing Guan Yu in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of New York (accession number: 2001.442). Also see two paintings from the same series representing Virudhaka and Gandharva, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2007, lot 1438. Another one representing the Warrior God of Heaven, also by the Prince Zhuang, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 26 May 2021, lot 858.
The present paintings belong to a group of paintings from the Shuilu, 'Water and Land', pantheon and were placed on temple walls for specific Shuilu rituals. These rituals were prayers offered to the deities of the Shuilu; and were recited in expectation of the deliverance of mortal creatures of land and water, including those of the living and the souls of the deceased, enter the wheel of reincarnation, and thereby achieving Nirvana. The Shuilu rituals found popularity during the Yuan period, and prevailed into the Ming and early Qing dynasties. From the style and composition of these paintings, early Qing depictions followed closely to those of earlier Ming period. A set of 139 hanging scrolls dated 1460 from the Baoning Temple, Youyu County, Shanxi province, and now in the Shanxi Provincial Museum, is discussed by R. L. Thorpe, Son of Heaven: Imperial Arts of China, Seattle, 1988, pp. 119-23, nos. 53-7. Cf. two related Ming works sold in these Rooms, 6 November 1997, lot 1077, depicting five standing Guanyin; and 3 November 1998, lot 1034, of five figures of Buddha.
Compare to the other paintings from the same series, the first of 'The Venerable Celestial Naga King of the Ocean', and the other 'The Venerable Celestial Goddess Bodhidruma', included in the exhibition, Chinese Imperial Patronage, Asian Art Gallery, London, pp. 30-31, nos. 5 and 6. Two other paintings, one depicting Da fan wang zu tian, Venerable Celestial King Brahma, and the other, Jianmen yuan miaodao zhenjun, Overseer of the Gate, Perfected Being of the Subtle Way, offered at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 April 2007, lot 865. Another painting from the same series depicting the Tiger-taming arhat is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (museum number: FE.2-2010) and another representing Guan Yu in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of New York (accession number: 2001.442). Also see two paintings from the same series representing Virudhaka and Gandharva, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2007, lot 1438. Another one representing the Warrior God of Heaven, also by the Prince Zhuang, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 26 May 2021, lot 858.