Washing the Elephant

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16–17th century copy of Qian Xuan (d. 1301). The arhat is in red, Manjushri at right.

Washing the Elephant (Chinese: 扫象图; pinyin: saoxiang, literally sweeping the elephant;[1] English variants: "sweeping", and "white" or "sacred" elephant) is a subject in Chinese Buddhist painting, showing a group of men washing a white elephant with brushes, under the supervision of the bodhisattva Manjushri and an arhat with a khakkhara (xīzhàng) staff. Manjushri is usually depicted in the costume of a meditation master in Chinese Buddhist monasteries, rather than his usual appearance in iconic paintings.

The Buddhist meaning of the subject relates to "sweeping away illusion", in a pun as the Chinese words for "elephant" (象) and "illusion/form/image" (相) are both pronounced as xiang. One painting is inscribed with the explanation “wash off the dust and see the Buddha of thusness”.[2]

Ding Yunpeng, c. 1588. Manjushri enthroned, with arhat to his left.

The white elephant, widely regarded as sacred in

dream of Queen Maya, when according to Buddhist tradition, he was conceived for his last earthly life.[4]

History

The subject is restricted to China, and was most popular during the 16th century.

Chinese porcelain in the Late Ming and early Qing. A vase fetched USD 137,000 in a Christie's auction in 2015.[6]

The earliest record of the subject in art dates from the 6th century.[7] Tang dynasty paintings of the same theme have a traditional colour scheme of red and white with some green.[7] A Ming dynasty painting of the same scene by Chen Hongshou in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art has an inscription suggesting that Ming intellectuals considered this scene to represent "sweeping away illusion".[8]

There is little literary evidence for the origins of the elephant tale, but researchers speculate a connection with one of the stories of the

Shakyamuni
(Buddha) illuminate their limited perception (symbolized by blindness in the parable) that permits only partial truths.

The emperor views a scroll

The Qianlong Emperor Viewing Paintings, Giuseppe Castiglione, c. 1746–50

In a painting of c. 1746–50 by the

Palace Museum, Beijing.[9]

A different version by Ding Yunpeng was sold in China in 2018 for RMB 10 million, then equating to USD 1,572,327.[10]

Li Gonglin

There is a Yuan or Song dynasty ink on silk hanging scroll attributed to Li Gonglin. The painting depicts 8 foreign grooms, 2 foreign observers, four monks, and two Chinese attired in loose robes. The heavy labor is left to foreign grooms. It is in the collection of the Indiana University Art Museum.[8]

The silk painting attributed to Li Gonglin was at one time in the collection of Xiang Yuanbian (1525-1590),[7] and this and other works were scattered as a result of subsequent military invasions, with some passing into the hands of other collectors.[11]

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Washing the White Elephant.
  1. ^ Christie's
  2. ^ Tsinghua; Christie's
  3. ^ Tsinghua; A 17th-century 6-tusked elephant in this painting at a dealer.
  4. ^ Ascot
  5. ^ Tsinghua
  6. Famille Rose
    vase.
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8248-1662-9
    .
  8. ^
    ISBN 0824816625
    . Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  9. ^ Berger, Patricia, Empire of Emptiness: Buddhist Art and Political Authority in Qing China, 2003, pp 63–64, University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 9780824862367, google books; Clunas, 91–97, who also gives Ding Guanpeng a share in the Castiglione painting
  10. ^ "Chinese Painting ‘Wash Elephant’ Hammered Down for RMB 10m at Poly Xiamen, The Value, Jan 2018
  11. ^ "The Ming Dynasty Legacy of Xiang Yuanbian". National Palace Museum. Retrieved 6 August 2019.

References

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