The Mandala of the Western Paradise of Amida Buddha (Taima Mandara)
Mount: 80 1/2 × 50 inches (204.47 × 127 cm)
The central scene of this painting shows the courtyard of a palace in the Pure Land, or the Western Paradise of the Amida Buddha. Amida is the Buddha of compassion and sits on his royal throne in the center surrounded by celestial divinities, including musicians and dancers. They greet newly reborn human devotees, who emerge from within lotus flowers blossoming in the pond in front of Amida.
A mandala like this would have been displayed in a Buddhist temple. It helped devout believers visualize the sacred realm while a monk narrated each scene.
With Mathias Komor, New York City, before 1963;
With Avery Brundage, United States of America, by 1963;
Purchased from Avery Brundage by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1963.Roger Ward and Patricia J. Fidler, eds., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection (New York: Hudson Hills Press, in association with The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1993) 357, (repro.).
Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008) 382, no.11, (repro.).
Chinese Art Society of America, Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America, vol 18, 1964, 79, (repro.).
