Page 92 - Bonhams May 2017 London Fine Japanese Art

PAINTED HANGING SCROLLS
Various Properties

161
ANONYMOUS
Edo (1615-1868) period, 17th/18th century
Kakejiku (vertical hanging scroll), ink and
colours on silk in sik mounts with bold
chrysanthemum designs in gold, depicting
eight rakan standing in a rocky landscape
amongst crags, a waterfall, and clouds,
bestowing alms upon a group of suffering
human beings; the jiku (roller ends) with gilt-
copper fittings.
Overall 185cm x 82cm (72¾in x 32¼in),
the image 122cm x 57cm (48in x 22¼in).

£1,500 - 2,000
JPY210,000 - 280,000
US$1,900 - 2,500

The composition of this scroll is unmistakably
close to one of the world-famous set of
Chinese scrolls, dating from the twelfth
century, that were deposited at Jufukuji
Temple in Kamakura in the thirteenth century,
transferred by the Hojo family to Sounji
Temple, Hakone, removed from Hakone by
Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1590, became the
property of Daitokuji Temple, Kyoto at the
end of the sixteenth century and were finally
acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
in 1895 (see http://www.mfa.org/collections/
object/lohans-bestowing-alms-on-suffering-
human-beings-24137). The paintings were
celebrated within monastic circles from an
early date and by the seventeenth century
would have been more broadly known,
making it likely that copies of all or some
of them would have been made. For a
brief account of the Boston luohan (rakan)
paintings, see Gregory Levine and Yukio
Lippitt, Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in
Medieval Japan, New York, Japan Society,
2007, cat. nos.26-28.

90 | BONHAMS For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.