Asian Paintings & Scrolls

A hanging scroll unrolls, and the room goes quiet. Asian paintings and scrolls here come from China, Japan, Tibet and India, in ink and mineral pigment on paper, silk and cotton. Tibetan thangkas show Avalokiteshvara and other Buddhist figures, and small early 19th century tsakli cards were painted for initiations and ritual offerings. Yao Taoist shaman’s scrolls and a Daoist scroll of the realm of the dead come from southern China. Indian works include a Bhairava and a tantric palmistry chart.

Japanese ink scrolls run from a Saigoku pilgrimage scroll to Daruma and a Jikkai mandala. Chinese calligraphy, 19th century scenes of hell and contemporary fan paintings from Guangdong by Liu Hong Wei share the walls with kanji by Seiran Chiba. A long scroll suits a narrow wall beside a doorway or stair, and a framed thangka holds its own above a sideboard. Most were painted to be rolled up again, which makes them unusually good travelers.