Page 100 - Christie's Inidian and HImalayan Works of Art, March 2019

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A PAINTING OF SUVARNABHADRA VIMALA
CHINA, CHENGDE, XUMI FUSHOU TEMPLE
QIANLONG PERIOD, 1779-1780
53 x 31√ in. (134.6 x 80.9 cm.)
$80,000-120,000

PROVENANCE
Private Midwestern collection, by repute

The present painting is of the style associated with the Xumi Fushou Temple was expanded massively, with the layout of the site mirroring the Buddhist
in Chengde, outside Beijing. Likely painted in the imperial workshops of the cosmology of a mandala. Qianlong even ordered the construction of the Putuo
capital for the decoration of the esteemed temple, it belongs to an imperial Zongchengmiao in 1771, a replica of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, complete with
Chinese school of Tibetan-style Buddhism that fourished in the eighteenth a façade with imitation painted windows, and the Puning Temple, a copy of the
century during a period of cultural interchange between China, Mongolia, ancient Samye Monastery in Tibet.
and Tibet.
The Xumi Fushou Temple was completed in 1780, under the orders of the
As a newly established dynasty, the Qing, who were themselves Manchus Qianlong Emperor. On the occasion of his seventieth birthday, Qianlong
and not of Han Chinese descent, relied on the discipline and support of invited Lobsang Palden Yeshe, the Sixth Panchen Lama and the second
other foreign ethnic groups, including the Mongolians and Tibetans, for most important religious leader of the Geluk sect of Tibetan Buddhism after
their dominance of China proper. In the pursuit of this goal, the Manchus the Dalai Lama, to visit him in Chengde outside Beijing. Like his grandfather
propagated and patronized Tibetan-style Buddhism. As early as the Yuan before him, Qianlong recognized that the arrival of the revered Panchen
dynasty, the Mongolians had relied on the spiritual wisdom of Tibetan Lama to Chengde at the behest of the emperor demonstrated enormous
Buddhist masters as guidance in matters both religious and secular. They political and religious power in the eyes of the Mongol khans, who were
would consult with Tibetan lamas (teachers), for instance, prior to battle, all devout Tibetan Buddhists, and who would also be in attendance at his
and believed that subsequent victories were the result of their karmic birthday proceedings. As a fantastic gesture of good will, and a display of
righteousness. In the following centuries, Mongolian adherence to Tibetan his power, Qianlong commanded his architects and builders to replicate the
Buddhism only increased, and the Qing Emperors took advantage of this Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, seat of the Panchen Lama in Tibet, in the summer
devotion by lavishly patronizing Tibetan Buddhist activities in both the capital retreat of Chengde. The resulting Xumi Fushou Temple was completed
of Beijing and in areas closer to Mongolia, such as Chengde. in time for the celebration and the visit of Lobsang Palden Yeshe, and
flled with countless paintings, sculptures, and other ritual objects. Unlike
Originally a hunting site, the site of Chengde was chosen for its strategic the Putuo Zongchengmiao, which while enormous, was largely an empty
location north of Beijing, and for its idyllic beauty. It also boasted a massive façade, the Xumi Fushou was a functioning monastery and temple. The
phallus-shaped rock, known as Qingchui, that was likened to Mount Sumeru, Chinese architects, however, could not resist laying out the Xumi Fushou on
the Buddhist axis mundi. As the Mongols were fervent followers of Tibetan- a processional axis in the Chinese manner and in contrast to the layout of
style Buddhism, the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1662-1722) ordered the construction of the Tashi Lhunpo, thus obfuscating the aesthetic connection between the
various Tibetan-style Buddhist temples ordered around the axis of Qingchui. two buildings.
Under the reign of his grandson, the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736-1795), the site

An image of the Xumi Fushou Temple, Chengde, Hebei, China

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