Master Zhiyi

CHINA; Southern Song dynasty

This is a 13th century portrait of Master Zhiyi, the founder of the Tiantai school. It was listed as an Important Cultural Property of Japan in 1900. The signature of Zhang Sixun is written in the lower left corner. Zhang is thought to have been part of the group of Buddhist artists who worked in Ningbo during the Southern Song dynasty.
Master Zhiyi sits serenely in a large chair, holding a ruyi (wish-fulfilling talisman) in his right hand. He wears a gold-lined monastic robe over a brown inner robe. His shoes are placed on a footrest below the chair. A cloth draped over the backrest of the chair is decorated with circular dragon patterns. The chair itself is covered with faint scrolling vines. The two Chinese characters written in gold at the top of the painting read his name “Zhiyi.”