China, c. 1900. Ink, gilt, and watercolors on silk, mounted as a hanging scroll. Finely painted, seated cross-legged on a lotus throne raised on an elaborate tiered hexagonal base decorated with colorful jewels, pendent lotus and ruyi tassels, floral and foliate scroll, and a Buddhist lion. Dressed in finely patterned, voluminous monastic robes tied around the waist and opening at the chest. His serene face with half-closed eyes and bow-shaped lips, flanked by elongated earlobes. The blue hair surrounding a domed ushinisha, backed by a halo.

Provenance: A private collector, acquired from Lempertz, Cologne.
Condition: Good condition with some wear, creasing, tiny losses, small tears, and soiling. The mounting in very good condition with usual traces of wear.

Dimensions: Image size 81 x 46.4 cm, Size incl. mounting 203 x 61.5 cm

This work was likely created for a 'Water-Land Assembly,' an originally Tantric ritual described as a “plenary mass” that became “an important part of the Buddhist establishment's continuing and remarkably successful effort to maintain its influence in the face of competition from Daoism, Confucianism, and popular beliefs”. See Weidner et al, Latter Days of the Law: Images of Chinese Buddhism 850-1850 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 1994), 280-281.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams San Francisco, 26 June 2019, lot 890
Price: USD 12,575 or approx. EUR 14,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A painting of Buddha, 17th/18th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject and manner of painting, if somewhat more elaborate than the present lot. Note the larger size (156.9 cm) and earlier dating.