登录
Published:
1. Jean-Paul Desroches (ed.) et al, Two Americans in Paris. A Quest for Asian Art, Paris, 2016, p. 121, no. 217.
2. Pointe-à-Callière Museum, Two Americans in Paris. A Quest for Asian Art, Montréal, 2016, exhibition album, p. 35.
Exhibited:
1. Pointe-à-Callière Museum, From the Lands of Asia. The Sam and Myrna Myers Collection, Montréal, 17 November 2016-19 March 2017.
2. Kimbell Art Museum, From the Lands of Asia. The Sam and Myrna Myers Collection, Fort Worth, Texas, 4 March-19 August 2018.
Korea. Ink, watercolors, and gouache on silk. Set inside a frame, behind glass. Finely painted with the solitary arhat sitting at the foot of a hundred-year old pine tree, represented as a sage whose white hair contrasts with the elegant aristocratic attire rendered in blue, red, black, and white, holding a bulja (fly whisk) of long white hair. The lower margin with a colophon inscribed in Chinese.
Inscriptions: The colophon, ‘The 7th day of the 10th year of the reign of Xianfeng (1860), The Great Dharma Hall […] Jinjuseong Fortress, Jinju City (now in South Korea)’.
Provenance: The Great Dharma Hall, Jinjuseong Fortress. Ex-collection Roger Chambard, the first French Ambassador to Korea (1959-1969). The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, Paris, France. Acquired between circa 1965-2012. Ambassador Roger Chambard (1904-1982) had a lifetime affection and curiosity for continents and cultures, including Africa, the Arab world and the Far East. He shared his interests in history and archaeology with his acquaintances, the writers Henry de Monfreid and Joseph Kessel. His first post in Asia was in China in Hankou (Province of Hubei) from 1932 to 1938. Afterwards he was posted to the Middle East, returning to Asia in 1959 as French Ambassador to South Korea. His interest and his knowledge of Asian cultures as well as his popularity permitted him to stay for ten years in Seoul.
Condition: Good condition with wear and vibrant colors. Some soiling, few stains, and flaking to pigment. Scattered tears, tiny losses, and creasing.
Dimensions: Image size 86 x 59 cm, Size incl. frame 90.5 x 63 cm
Dokseong pursues spiritual discipline in remote mountains, far from the distractions of human life. A Daoist immortal adopted into the Buddhist pantheon, he represents the path to purity and longevity through self-cultivation, the literal meaning of his name.
Korean arhat paintings, known as nahan-do, depict the enlightened disciples of the Buddha—human figures who, though having attained nirvana, remain on earth to protect the Dharma and guide sentient beings. Unlike celestial Buddhas and bodhisattvas, arhats are grounded in the earthly realm, and this is reflected in their iconography: naturalistic features, individual expressions, and often vivid, dynamic settings. Introduced through Chinese Buddhist traditions during the Tang and Five Dynasties periods, arhat worship gained traction in Korea during the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties. Though only around forty sets survive today—owing to war and temple decline—these rare works are essential records of Korea’s engagement with Buddhist visual culture. Korean arhat images reflect diverse stylistic influences and localized expressions, making them key to understanding the broader East Asian tradition of Buddhist devotional painting.
The Great Dharma Hall at Jinjuseong Fortress, located in Jinju, South Korea, is a rare example of a Buddhist structure integrated within a military fortress. While there is no direct evidence that this hall currently houses arhat (nahan) paintings, similar Dharma halls throughout Korea—especially in traditional temple complexes—frequently contain such imagery. Often painted in groups of sixteen, eighteen, or five hundred, these paintings were especially popular during the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties and were used for devotional and ritual purposes. In many temple Dharma halls, Arhat images are found in dedicated side halls or integrated into mural and scroll compositions.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related painting depicting Dokseong, with a similar colophon to the lower margin, housed in the Unmunsa Temple, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. Compare a closely related painting of the arhat Pindora Bharadvaja, dated to the 19th century, in the Portland Art Museum, accession number 89.3.1. Compare a closely related portrait of the Priest Samyeongdang, dated to the Joseon dynasty, late 19th century, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.2000.15.8.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 15 September 2010, lot 712
Price: USD 12,500 or approx. EUR 15,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Anonymous, 20th century, Dokseong, the Solitary Ascetic
Expert remark: Compare the related subject and size (77.5 x 68.5 cm). Note the later date.
|
|
| Galerie Zacke | |
| 地址： | Sterngasse 13, 1010 Vienna, Austria |
| 电话： | 0043-1-5320452 |
| 邮编： | 1070 |
| 向卖家提问 | |
