A rare triptych of Buddha with attendant Bodhisattvas China, Ming Dynasty, 15th / 16th Century

hanging scroll format, ink and color on silk, comprising a central massive figure of Buddha with hand in vitarka mudra, seated within the petals of a large upturned lotus borne on a hexagonal waisted pedestal set with flanking Atlas figures of guardian kings, lokapala, bearing swords or vajra-clubs, upon swirling clouds and framed by a circular mandorla and flaming aureole, all against swirling clouds below the small floating image of a Tathagata Buddha in meditation within a circular mandorla upon clouds, with flanking pairs of richly bejeweled bodhisattvas in adoration, one holding a book or sutra, with their feet upon lotus flowers and their long robes and scarves fluttering in the celestial winds, against further swirling clouds, each pair below images of the Five Transcendental Buddhas in meditation within circular mandorlas and with hands in various mudras floating upon clouds

By the middle Ming Dynasty, large votive paintings were used within private chapels and side pavilions to major temple complexes and monasteries. The present triptych appears closely related in style and pigment tones with a series of the Four directional Guardian Kings, exhibited Guardians Defending the Celestial Kingdom and Dharma Cosomos. Splendour of Chinese Buddhism Paintings, Taipei, 2003, pp.23, 27, 29 and 31, where the iconography and decorative handling of the figures appears closely related to contemporary 15th century religious woodblock prints. In particular, a development towards a more loose treatment of the divine figures and their attributes and mudras, through the broad publication of such prints, may have led to a slight diffusion in iconography, and difficulty in accurately identifying the bodhisattvas and the Tathagata Buddhas. The main central Buddha in this instance, given the 'mudra of discussion', may be either Vairocana or Sakyamuni. Compare in particular two other paintings, ibid., pp.43 and 47, of Sakyamuni and Vairocana respectively, said to be in a style popular in Shaanxi province, which appear closely related to the present triptych. Compare an important painting of Avalokitesvara or Guanyin in brighter pigments with dedicatory cartouche, sold in these rooms, September 19, 2002, lot 196.