103 - A RARE AND IMPRESSIVE BUDDHIST HANGING SCROLL DEPICTING DAIITOKU MYO-O (YAMANTAKA), MUROMACHI PERIOD

A RARE AND IMPRESSIVE BUDDHIST HANGING SCROLL DEPICTING DAIITOKU MYO-O (YAMANTAKA), MUROMACHI PERIOD Japan, 15 th-16 th century, Muromachi period (1333-1573) Ink, watercolors, gouache, and gold paint on silk. Mounted as a hanging scroll on a silk brocade frame with wooden jikusaki (roller ends). Finely painted to depict the six-headed wrathful esoteric deity Daiitoku Myo-o seated astride a recumbent water buffalo, his six arms radiating around him and holding a hoken (sacred sword), nyoibo (wish-granting staff), rinbo (wheel of the Buddhist law), club, bow, and arrow. The faces with fierce expressions, the dark body richly adorned with jewelry and draped in flowing scarves and a tiger skin, all framed by a flaming nimbus. Image SIZE 80.5 x 36.4 cm, SIZE incl. mounting 172.3 x 52.7 cm Condition: Very good condition with old wear, fading to pigments, creasing and folds with associated small losses. The mounting with expected wear, small tears and losses on the upper edges, and scattered soiling. In Esoteric Buddhism, there is one Buddha at the center of the universe, and four additional Buddhas, each of whom occupies one of the four cardinal directions. These Buddhas also manifest themselves in fierce forms called Kings of Brightness (myo-o), or Wisdom Kings. Daiitoku, as the Wisdom King of Great Awe-inspiring Power, is an avatar of the Buddha Amida and manages the west. Museum comparison: Compare a related hanging scroll, Daiitoku Myo-o, dated to the 13 th century, 127.8 x 69 cm, in the Nezu Museum, Tokyo, collection number 10002. The painting is designated an Important Cultural Property. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related earlier hanging scroll depicting Daiitoku Myo-o, dated to the 15 th-16 th century, 83 x 52 cm, at Bonhams, Fine Japanese Art, 14 May 2015, London, lot 224 (sold for GBP 4,375 or approx. EUR 7,400 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).