Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Crowned Shakyamuni Buddha
Crowned Shakyamuni Buddha

Crowned Shakyamuni Buddha

CultureChinese
DateMing dynasty (1368-1644)
MediumHanging scroll; painting on silk
DimensionsImage: 78 × 41 3/4 inches (198.12 × 106.05 cm)
Mount: 120 × 45 1/2 inches (304.8 × 115.57 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number34-255
On View
Not on view
Collections
DescriptionKuan Yin in red and yellow robes seated on lotus with two small guardian figures.Exhibition History

Birger Sandzen Memorial Gallery, Lindsborg, KS.  Exhibition.  November 1957-January 1959.

Far Eastern Art Exhibit, US Army Training Center, Fort Leonard Wood, MO.  May 1968.

Gallery Label
The calmly seated founder of Buddhism, wears a vivid red shawl and displays a variation of the “fear not” hand gesture to worshipers. A magnificent crown on his head makes this differ from other images of the Buddha. The painting represents the radiantly glorious, beatific form of the Shakyamuni Buddha. It is one of the Buddha’s forms in the heavenly abode that can only be seen by those who are spiritually advanced. Two apsaras (flying angels) in the upper corners celebrate the Buddha’s glory, and two guardian kings in the lower corners protect the Buddha’s teaching.
Provenance

With the North China Art Trading Co., Peiping (modern-day Beijing), China, by March 30, 1934;

Purchased from the North China Art Trading Co., through Laurence Sickman, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1934.

NOTES:

[1] Sickman's purchase record, Nelson-Atkins Archives, RG80-15 William Rockhill Nelson Trust Office Files, box 1a, Art Invoices/Vouchers 1934.

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.