ink and color on silk, finely painted with an image of a buddha with a mustache and goatee, wearing a 'Five Dhyani Buddha' crown, both hands resting on the lap, the right in abhayamudra, the left in vitarkamudra, seated in dhyanasana on an elaborately detailed lotus throne, surrounded by a nimbus of light against multicolored clouds, with a floating canopy and flying apsaras scattering flowers above

The painting has areas of wear, consolidation and horizontal cracks with losses from repeated rolling. The halo has small areas of repair and overpainting. The top edge has a tear, and the painting has been reduced in size. However, the painting is fine and the colors are vibrant.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

By the middle of the Ming dynasty, large votive paintings were used within private shrines and the side halls of temples.  Paintings of buddhas, such as the present lot, were also used in the Water Land Deliverance Ritual, in which deities from higher realms are called upon to deliver beings from lower realms of existence from their suffering. For a related painting see the Sotheby's selling exhibition catalogue Footsteps of the Buddha: Masterworks from Across the Buddhist World, 3rd to 23rd September 2013, no. 21.