Page 187 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art London Nov. 2019

Finely woven in the brilliant shades of cinnabar red and golden Compare with a similar but later silk velvet cover, late 18th century,
yellow, the panel evokes powerful religious associations concerning woven in gold metal-wrapped thread with orange blossoming lotus
the attainment of immortality. Emerging from the mud, lotus flowers amidst meandering leafy scrolls on a navy ground, from the collection
were a highly-regarded symbol of Buddhist purity and enlightenment. of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, illustrated by R.Jacobsen, Ch’ing
Both sutras and actual depictions of Buddhist realms, dating from at Dynasty Textiles in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 2002,
least the fourth century, relate to the lotus calyx as means releasing vol.2, pp.1094, cat.no.543.
the reborn souls into the Pure Land presided by Buddha Amitabha.
The blossoming red flowers, however, also recall the transmutation
of cinnabar into gold, a Daoist process aimed at driving away the
malignant spirits and ascending to heaven in broad daylight.

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