Buddha Amitabha (Amita) and the Eight Great Bodhisattvas
date: label: Date
content: mid-late 14th century
label: Period
content: Late Goryeo period
notes: label: Description
content: Buddha and eight disciples. The Buddha is seated on a lotus throne aloft, in the attitude of teaching. His throne rests upon an alter decorated in lotus motive, and before this and at his sides are eight Bodhisattvas, the "Beings of Enlightenment", depicted in beauty and brilliantly garbed. Each, like the Buddha himself, has a nimbus. The Bodhisattvas are standing, in groups of four. Silk a deep dark brown, considerably worn and showing some cracks. Vestiges of seal marks at lower left, unreadable.
label: Marks
content: Vestiges of seal marks at lower left, unreadable. One seal, undecipherable.
label: Label
content: Amitabha, known in Korean as Amita-bul, the Buddha who promises salvation to all believers, is seated in the center of a goup of eight bodhisattvas (enlightened beings). The Buddha wears a red robe embelished with gold patterns, while all but one of the bodhisattvas wear jeweled crowns and fine, translucent garments. Only one, Kshitigarbha, who has the power to save even those who have been reborn in Hell, wears a simpler, hooded garment. Under court patronage Korean Buddhist art of the Koryo dynasty (918-1392) developed an extraordinarily refined style.
label: Provenance
content: To 1906
label: Provenance
content: Yamanaka & Company, to 1906 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1906 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Yamanaka & Company in 1906 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] Undated folder sheet note. Also see Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 537, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. The majority of Charles Lang Freer’s purchases from Yamanaka & Company were made at its New York branch. Yamanaka & Company maintained branch offices, at various times, in Boston, Chicago, London, Peking, Shanghai, Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto. During the summer, the company also maintained seasonal locations in Newport, Bar Harbor, and Atlantic City.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Goryeo Buddhist Paintings: A Closer Look (February 25 to May 28, 2012)
label: Exhibition History
content: Buddhist Art (May 9, 1993 to August 9, 2011)
label: Exhibition History
content: Korean Art (December 17, 1984 to June 23, 1986)
label: Exhibition History
content: Studies in Connoisseurship 1923-1983 (September 23, 1983 to March 1, 1984)
label: Exhibition History
content: Korean Art (March 20, 1982 to 2 April 1984)
label: Exhibition History
content: Korean Art (June 4, 1982 to September 23, 1982)
label: Exhibition History
content: Korean Art (July 15, 1981 to September 15, 1981)
label: Exhibition History
content: Korean Art (March 20, 1980 to March 3, 1981)
label: Exhibition History
content: Korean Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to October 13, 1978)
label: Exhibition History
content: Korean Art (June 19, 1969 to November 10, 1976)
label: Exhibition History
content: Korean Art (November 2, 1959 to November 22, 1971)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting and Sculpture (November 15, 1944 to February 25, 1956)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Scrolls (July 19, 1943 to April 30, 1946)
label: Exhibition History
content: Stone Sculpture, Buddhist Bronze, and Chinese Painting (May 2, 1923 to February 25, 1956)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Yamanaka and Co. 山中商会 (1917-1965) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Korea
topic: label: Topic
content: Buddhism
label: Topic
content: Buddha
label: Topic
content: bodhisattva
label: Topic
content: Goryeo period (918 - 1392)
label: Topic
content: Avalokiteshvara
label: Topic
content: Manjushri
label: Topic
content: Samantabhadra
label: Topic
content: lotus
label: Topic
content: Amitabha Buddha
label: Topic
content: Maitreya Buddha
label: Topic
content: Korea
label: Topic
content: halo
label: Topic
content: throne
label: Topic
content: Ksitigarbha
label: Topic
content: preaching
label: Topic
content: Mahasthamaprapta
label: Topic
content: dharmachakra mudra
label: Topic
content: Korean Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1906.269
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink, color, and gold on silk
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 160.3 x 86 cm (63 1/8 x 33 7/8 in)