Water color on paper. Japan, Edo Period
Mounted as a hanging scroll, very finely painted with the Amida Buddha (Sanskrit: Amitabha). He is shown standing on a broad green lotus pedestal formed as a blossom. His robe is minutely painted in silver with rich intricate details of geometric and radial lines partly continued in the rays of the aureole spreading over the whole background; it is painted with broad black stripes and silver lines; the brown stripes reveal the delicate (presumably) silk base grid. Amida is shown bearded, with lowered eyes, the hair decorated with a red shiny jewel. His hands are held in the vitarka mudra ("offering", Japanes: anii-in) and in the varada mudra (granting of wishes, jap. segan-in). A round red halo is raising from behind his head. Floral brocade mounting and clouds. Amida is the Buddha of the “Land of Bliss / Pure Landâ€, which is a form of Buddhism that took its origins in China in the 5th century. Ivory scrolls, wear due to age.
SIZE IMAGE 36,2 x 16 CM, MOUNTING 73 x 24,3 CM
From a German private collection