ANONYMOUS

ANONYMOUS
THE SHAKA TRIAD
MUROMACHI OR LATER, 14TH CENTURY OR LATER

A large and impressive Japanese painting, in ink, colour and gilt on silk, with the central figure of Buddha Shakyamuni raised on a lotus throne, with a jewelled canopy above him and a double halo behind, his hands in the vitarka mudra; Fugen Bosatsu seated beside him on his white elephant and holding the long stem of a lotus flower, Monju Bosatsu on the other side riding his shishi whilst holding a nyoi sceptre, the Historical Buddha and the two bodhisattvas depicted in gilt; the Shaka Triad surrounded by twenty other guardian deities, protectors of the Sutra and all those who recite it, including Xuanzang (602-664), the translator of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra painted in the lower right corner, the Chinese Buddhist monk holding a scroll and brush, his protector the Great General of the Desert Jinja Daisho standing before him; the central panel surrounded by a painted border of gilt dragons amongst scrolling clouds, and large peony flowerheads amongst scrolling tendrils imitating a silk mount, framed and glazed, the central panel 129.5cm x 57.5cm, 211.5cm x 85.5cm overall.

Provenance: from the estate of the late Baroness von Hohenberg, formerly, from the collection of Baron Eberhard Bodenhausen-Degener (1868-1918) of Schloss Neubeuern, Bavaria; by descent to Baroness Juli (Luli) Bodenhausen Degener, who married Baron Gottfried von Meyern Hohenberg; by descent to Baron Gottfried Eberhard von Meyern Hohenberg, and thence by descent.

Baroness Juli Bodenhausen-Degener (1902-51) was a German-American actress also known under the name 'Luli Deste'. She grew up at Schloss Neubeuern in Bavaria. The castle was owned by her uncle, Jan von Wendelstadt (1856-1909), who was an avid art collector. He often invited her father, Baron Eberhard Bodenhausen-Degener (1868-1918), to stay with him at the castle. Under Jan, the Schloss also became a cultural centre with many German artists and intellectuals visiting him.