Bathing of the Buddha Festival
Qing dynasty, 1833
Medium
Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk
Dimensions
108.9 × 54.2 cm (42 7/8 × 21 3/8 in.)
Classification
hanging scroll
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
80720
Art Historical Context
This hanging scroll by Hua Ziyou captures the vibrant Bathing of the Buddha Festival, a cherished Buddhist ritual celebrating the birth of Siddhartha Gautama. Created in 1833 during the Qing dynasty, the work reflects the continued importance of Buddhist devotional practices in late imperial China, even as Manchu court balanced diverse religious traditions. The festival depicted here involves the ceremonial washing of Buddha images with scented water, symbolizing purification and the washing away of ignorance—a custom that spread widely across East Asia. Painted in ink and color on silk, the ...