Korean Buddhist Temple Scroll Painting Sinjung T'aenghwa Joseon Dynasty

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-style Buddhist Painting) and was traditionally hanging in the temples above the altars behind the Buddhist statue. Functioning as a banner for visual storytelling and worship ambience, they were categorized based on subject matter (the deity it depicted and the context) which determined the location of the display as well as the occasion. Different from Buddhism-dominated Goryeo dynasty, Joseon was a largely Confucianism-oriented society and initially the Buddhism was even suppressed. Toward the end of Joseon period (19th century onward), the attitude toward Buddhism relaxed. These scrolling paintings gradually replaced the stucco mural in the temples and gained their popularity.
The piece on offer is large middle altar piece. It depicts Amitabha seated on a double-lotus throne surrounded by flanked bodhisattvas, Ahart attendants, Taoist immortals, and other deities. Sometimes known as Sermon in the Paradise, the painting was done with polychrome pigments on silk. It was set by a silk border and line backing within a wood frame and a new acrylic shadow box.
On the lower left corner. a plate with Hanji writing dated the piece to Guanxu 18th year which was 1888. There is also a hand-written note on reverse: "CA 1830 - Verified at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts - Apr. 1985 - Mounted / framed 1984".
The silk painting was in a stable preserved fragment state. It shows lots of losses, wears, fading to half of the image. The Amitah figure in the center as well as the right side of the scroll carries on a sense of grandeur that it once was and a wonderful aura of antiquity. A worn beauty regardless.