A set of 4 matted and framed Buddhist leaf paintings dating from the 18th century with a calligraphy on the reverse. Dimensions are: 10 inches tall X 6 inches wide, 25.40 cm X 15.24 cm, the frame measures 16 inches tall X 15 inches wide, 40.64 cm X 38.10 cm. All measurements are approximate.

The Bodhi tree is regarded as the tree of wisdom and is dubbed as the sacred tree of Buddhism. In ancient India, every single monastery had a bodhi tree, and the fallen leaves were treated as relics by the monks. Before the popularization of paper, Indian monks would stack bodhi leaves together as pamphlets for scripture writing. The production of a bodhi leaf painting takes at least a month, from material selection to completion, there are more than thirty steps: start with a well-shaped Bodhi leaf and make it go through the process of corrosion, drying, rinsing, then begin the process of painting following the shape and texture of the leaf, etc. The front of this set are bodhi leave paintings with their content mainly based on Buddhist allusions and arhats, and the characters are vividly illustrated. On the back of the set are hand copies of the Heart Sutra and the Diamond Sutra in gold scripts over blue backgrounds. Emperor Qianlong was a devout Buddhist. He once ordered the making of a set of bodhi leaf pamphlets, on which he calligraphed the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra. He also ordered the palace painters to elaborately paint figures of Guanyin and arhats on the bodhi leaves and frame them into books. All of the books were marked with the Imperial seal and finely packaged. Judging from the form of the combination of arhats and written scriptures, this set could just be one of those artifacts from the Qianlong court in the eighteenth century. Similar examples can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art as no. 12.134.13, and the British Museum as no. 1894, 0216, 0.12.1-19.
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十八世紀 貝葉畫羅漢鏡框 四個一套

菩提樹被視為智慧之樹，在佛教中被稱為聖樹。古印度每個寺院都種有菩提，落下的葉子被僧侶視為聖物，在造紙技術還未普及前，印度僧人將其與貝葉樹的葉子疊夾在一起，用於寫經，後世將這些書寫繪製在葉上的佛教經籍和圖像統稱為「貝葉經、貝葉畫」。一件菩提葉畫從選材到完工至少需耗時月余：挑出品相完好的菩提葉，經腐蝕、幹燥、漂洗製作成葉脈，再依據葉片的自然形狀和紋理，起稿、上色，歷30多道工序，才告完工。本件作品正面為彩繪貝葉畫，內容以佛經典故和羅漢為主，所繪人物眉目神態畢現。背面為藍底金字手抄《心經》和《金剛經》。乾隆皇帝篤信佛教，他令人製成菩提葉箋，在葉箋上禦筆親書《般若波羅蜜多心經》。他還命內廷畫師在菩提葉上精心繪製觀音大士、羅漢等墨像，裝裱成冊，鈐以禦印，配上函套。本件作品從羅漢與書寫經文相結合的形式來看，應是十八世紀乾隆宮廷的佳作。

可參閱大都會博物館，編號12.134.13。另見大英博物館，編號1894,0216,0.12.1-19。
有虫蛀和修复，有使用磨损
Worm damage and repair, and age wear.
来自纽约州北部Hunter先生家族传承。
From Mr. Hunter in upstate New York. This piece is a family heirloom.