C​o​l​l​e​c​t​i​o​n​ ​o​f​ ​C​o​l​o​r​e​d​ ​B​u​d​d​h​i​s​t​ ​I​m​a​g​e​s​ ​P​a​i​n​t​e​d​ ​o​n​ ​B​o​d​h​i​ ​L​e​a​v​e​s

This item uses bodhi leaves as the painting medium and is marked as containing twenty-two works from the eighteenth century. Because bodhi leaves are associated with the tradition of the Bodhi tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment, they are often endowed in Buddhist imagery with symbolic meanings of commemoration, offering, and protection of the Dharma. Such leaf paintings typically make use of the transparent yet resilient texture of leaf veins to bear images of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, arhats, or Dharma protectors, combining functions of religious offering, travel souvenir, and painting and calligraphy collecting. This item may serve as material for the study of Qing dynasty Buddhist imagery, bodhi-leaf craftsmanship, and transregional Buddhist material culture.