Anonymous Korea, Choson Dynasty, 16th century

hanging scroll format, ink and color on silk with gilt details, depicting the deity standing with the body slightly turned and the left hand clasping the right hand at the wrist while holding a long rosary in front of the body, dressed in long robes falling in loose folds to the hems bordered by heavenly horses, tianma, against waves, the bare feet emerging under the skirts supported by large lotus flowers, the body adorned with elaborate jeweled pectoral and long ropes of jewels, the large face with serene benevolent expression, with large eyes beneath arching brows tapering to the large nose and small bud mouth framed by thin moustache and goatee, the high chignon dressed in a tall jeweled crown set with Buddha Amitabha in dhyanasana within a flaming mandorla, flanked by long locks of hair trailing to the shoulders and framed by a diaphanous veil falling from the crown, wrapping around the arms and flaring at the skirts, against a large circular nimbus and a green field scattered with various gilt flowers including lotus, chrysanthemum, mallow, camellia, hydrangea, hibiscus, orchid and peony

Collection of Senator Theodore Francis Green, Rhode Island.

Images of the bodhisattva of Compassion, called Kwanum Bosal in Korea, became popular with the distribution of key Buddhist scriptures such as the Lotus Sutra and the Flower Garland Sutra during the Koryo dynasty. The present standing image appears to be a Choson example following an earlier Koryo version, retaining stylistic elements such as the beard-tuft, nimbus position, diaphanous veil and the flower-strewn ground. While Koryo images more typically depict the deity seated in lalitasana, 'royal ease, within a grotto represent Mount Potalaka, standing images are rare. The present example appears to be most closely related to an earlier painting in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, illustrated Masterworks of Asian Art, Cleveland, 1998, pp.236-37, bearing an accompanying dedication. Compare also an image in white robes and more elaborate jewelry, illustrated Buddhist Art of the Koryo and Choson Dynasties, Korea, Yamaguchi: Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, 1997, p.139, fig.103.

In contrast, a seventeenth century painting of a standing Kwanum, in the Avery Brundage collection now in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, exhibited Hopes and Aspirations. Decorative Painting of Korea, San Francisco, 1998, no.6, displays the later innovations of the Choson dynasty, such as the three-quarter view of the face, the replacement of the diaphanous veil with a heavier white cowl, and the more slender proportions of the features.