Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Unknown
Korean Buddhist Guardian Mural Taenghwa Painting, c. 1800

c. 1800

$8,800
£6,533.53
€7,613.36
CA$12,217.24
A$13,665.75
CHF 7,111.74
MX$168,230.09
NOK 90,476.05
SEK 84,884.37
DKK 56,803.28
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Evolving from the Korean tradition of tomb mural painting came the Buddhist practice of “taenghwa,” or hanging-painting, a form of religious painting that included hanging scrolls, framed paintings and wall murals. Influenced by Chinese and Central Asian Buddhist art, taenghwas were painted with Buddhist iconography and were used in Buddhist temples as visual aids during rituals and meditation. The earliest surviving examples of taenghwa date to the early 13th century and were composed of silk gauze and mineral colors. These paintings would portray images of prominent Buddhas and bodhisattvas or depict stories from Buddhist scripture. This example dates to the later Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), a period wherein the presiding Confucian government gradually suppressed Buddhist institutions, resulting in a stylistic shift in taenghwa painting towards brighter colors, smaller scales and simpler materials. This example is a form of shinjung taenghwa (신중탱화), which loosely translates to “altar painting of guardian deities,” or “guardian mural” for short. The central figure, wearing a feathered headdress and illuminated by a halo, is Tongjin Posal, or Skanda, a bodhisattva charged with protecting the Lotus Sutra of the True Law, one of the most revered of all Mahāyāna Buddhist texts. Typically placed above the middle altar of a Buddhist temple, the shinjung taenghwa houses the lesser deities and Tongjin Posal is commonly positioned in the center as their defender. The figures surrounding Tongjin Posal are various heavenly gods and goddesses who together comprise the sinjung, or Host of Spirits. Painted with gouache pigments in a dark palette of red, green, brown and blue, this taenghwa is a beautiful example of this traditional art form, composed with incredible movement, intricate detailing and rich symbolism. Gouache paint on cotton. Framed. Significant fading due to age. Some creasing.
  • Creation Year:
    c. 1800
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 42 in (106.68 cm)Width: 42 in (106.68 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Chicago, IL
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: CEC0011stDibs: LU1036313036012

More From This Seller

View All
Monumental Chinese Ancestor Portrait, c. 1900
Located in Chicago, IL
Reflecting the role that ancestor worship played in Chinese culture, this Qing-dynasty painting depicts several generations of family, dressed in intrica...
Category

20th Century Qing Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Wood, Paint, Pigment

Chinese Qing-Dynasty Ancestor Portrait
Located in Chicago, IL
This intricately detailed composition is a late-Qing dynasty ancestor portrait depicting several generations of a family's male ancestry. Or...
Category

Late 19th Century Qing Figurative Paintings

Materials

Fabric, Silk, Paint, Pigment

Chinese Mythical Immortal Screen Painting, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Since the 12th century, people in China have used folding screens and doors to partition and decorate their homes - the vivid scenes backing the screens added life and color to a room. This 19th-century painting is delicately brushed of gouache and ink on fabric and was originally part of a set of eight backing a wooden screen in northern China. The figure depicted is one of the mythical Eight Immortals of Taoism. Said to have attained immortality through their studies of the natural world, each of the Eight Immortals represents a different condition in life and together they impart a blessing of prosperity and longevity. Depicted here is immortal Lan Caihe, the patron saint of florists and gardeners. Standing atop a lotus leaf in open water, they hold a gardening hoe in one hand and a basket for flowers...
Category

Mid-19th Century Qing Figurative Paintings

Materials

Fabric, Ink, Pigment

Set of Four Chinese Immortals Screen Paintings, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Since the 12th century people in China have used folding screens and doors to partition and decorate their homes—the vivid scenes backing the screens added life and color to a room. ...
Category

Mid-19th Century Qing Figurative Paintings

Materials

Fabric, Ink, Gouache

Tibetan Thangka of Vaishravana
Located in Chicago, IL
Thangkas are devotional paintings displayed by Buddhists in monasteries, temples, and even their homes. This 19th-century Tibetan Thangka is rich with ...
Category

Mid-19th Century Figurative Paintings

Materials

Fabric, Paint, Pigment

Chinese Mythical Immortal Screen Painting, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
Since the 12th century, people in China have used folding screens and doors to partition and decorate their homes - the vivid scenes backing the screens added life and color to a roo...
Category

Mid-19th Century Figurative Paintings

Materials

Fabric, Ink, Pigment

You May Also Like

Korean Buddhist Guardian Mural Taenghwa Painting, c. 1800
Located in Chicago, IL
Evolving from the Korean tradition of tomb mural painting came the Buddhist practice of “taenghwa,” or hanging-painting, a form of religious painting that included hanging scrolls, framed paintings and wall murals. Influenced by Chinese and Central Asian Buddhist art...
Category

Antique Early 19th Century Korean Paintings and Screens

Materials

Cotton, Paint

18th/19th Century Korean Buddhist T’aenghwa Painted Scroll or Banner in Frame
Located in Milford, NH
A fine Korean Buddhist T’aenghwa scroll painting, similar to the Tibetan Thangka paintings. The Korean name taenghwa is very similar to the Tibetan word thangka and the period of pop...
Category

Antique 18th Century Korean Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Korean Buddhist Temple Scroll Painting Sinjung T'aenghwa Joseon Dynasty
Located in Atlanta, GA
A large Korean Buddhist painting on silk framed in wood with an acrylic shadow box. The type of the painting is known in Korean as Sinjung T'aenghwa (Literally translated as Scroll-s...
Category

Antique 1880s Korean Other Paintings and Screens

Materials

Silk, Acrylic, Wood

Big Size Buddhist Painting
Located in Brescia, IT
Painting on natural-colored paper, depicting many characters from the Buddhist pantheon. These images of Buddha and bodhisattvas depicted stories from Chinese Buddhist scriptures and...
Category

Antique Early 19th Century Chinese Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Paper

Immortal He Xiangu Painting on Canvas, China, 19th Century Asian Art
Located in Beuzevillette, FR
Chinese painting depicting He Xiangu reproduced three times but with a different attribute: up a lotus flower, bottom left a fly hunt and bottom right again the lotus flower, each time surrounded by disciple the one praying right, the one on the left seems to bring him a bowl. Pigments on linen or hemp, 19th century. He Xiangu or Ho Hsien-ku, "Immortal Demoiselle He," is an immortal Taoist, a member of the group of Eight Immortals. She is represented holding in her hand a lotus symbolizing spiritual fulfillment, and sometimes also a sheng, a peach of immortality, a wooden ladle...
Category

Antique 19th Century Chinese Qing Paintings and Screens

Materials

Canvas

Framed Korean Folk Painting of General Guan Gong
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Korean folk Shamanism watercolor on textile matted with woven brocade and presented in a wood frame with an oriental style metal hanging hardware. The painting was estimated to be from early 20th century circa 1910-1930s. It depicts Guan Yu (160-220AD), a legendary Chinese warrior and general from Eastern Han Dynasty. Long worshiped in China as a deity, across all three major religions, Guan Gong...
Category

Early 20th Century Korean Folk Art Paintings and Screens

Materials

Textile, Brocade