Taoist Mountain Spirit, 1884. Ink and colors on cloth, now framed, 20 3/8 × 12 1/2 in. (51.7 × 31.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Carroll Family Collection, 2020.18.8 (Photo: Image courtesy of the donor., CUR.2020.18.8_overall.jpg)
Taoist Mountain Spirit, 1884. Ink and colors on cloth, now framed, 20 3/8 × 12 1/2 in. (51.7 × 31.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Carroll Family Collection, 2020.18.8 (Photo: Image courtesy of the donor., CUR.2020.18.8_reverse.jpg)
Taoist Mountain Spirit
Asian Art
MEDIUM
Ink and colors on cloth, now framed
DATES
1884
DYNASTY
Joseon dynasty
DIMENSIONS
20 3/8 × 12 1/2 in. (51.7 × 31.7 cm) (show scale)
INSCRIPTIONS
At the top, in Korean written in Chinese characters, "Naban Jeonja Ui."
Below this, in Jipdang, the Korean variant on Sanskrit, the inscription appears to identify the figure as Pindola Bharadvaja.
Lengthy inscriptions on the reverse, in Sino-Korean, include a date to the tenth year of Guangxa, or 1884, and indication that the painting was in Haeinsa temple.
COLLECTIONS
Asian Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
2020.18.8
CREDIT LINE
Gift of the Carroll Family Collection
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Painting of Dok-seong, a Daoist deity who was absorbed into Korean Shamanist and Buddhist practices. The "lonely saint" or "hermit saint" sits in a mountain setting with emblems of longevity and good luck around him (pine tree, pair of birds, peony, bamboo, rocks). The image has an arched top and in the space above, on a bright blue ground, are inscriptions in Chinese and Sanskrit script, written in red paint. These inscriptions identify the subject as Pindola Bharadvaja (Korean: Na-ban Jeon-ja Ui), the celebrated Buddhist Arhat, an original disciple of the Buddha Shakyamuni. Dok-seong is often identified with Pindola in Korean Buddhist tradition. His name means "sel-cultivation" and he represents spiritual perfection and longevity.
Although similar in guise and function to San-Shin, another elderly Korean mountain spirit, Dok-seong is typically not depicted with a tiger or attendants.
On the reverse is a page with lengthy inscriptions in Chinese characters in black ink, and Sanskritic mantras or seed syllables in red ink.
The object is dated, to the 10th year of Guang-xa, or 1884. That date appears in he inscriptions on the reverse, along with indication that the painting was once in the possession of Haeinsa, one of the most important Buddhist temples in Korea.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Taoist Mountain Spirit, 1884. Ink and colors on cloth, now framed, 20 3/8 × 12 1/2 in. (51.7 × 31.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Carroll Family Collection, 2020.18.8 (Photo: Image courtesy of the donor., CUR.2020.18.8_overall.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, CUR.2020.18.8_overall.jpg. Image courtesy of the donor., 2020
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
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