Bukan and the Tiger

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Photo by John Bentham.
Bukan and the Tiger
Photo by John Bentham.
Artist/Maker
Datedate unknown
MediumInk and hand-colored drawing
DimensionsComposition/Sheet: 10 3/4 × 13 1/2 in. (27.3 × 34.3 cm) Support: 15 1/4 × 15 1/2 in. (38.7 × 39.4 cm)
Credit LineGift of Omar S. Pound, Class of 1951
Object number2024.1.2
On view
DescriptionBukan (called Fenggan or Feng Kan in China) was a lengendary six-foot-tall Taoist monk-poet who appeared at the Guoqing Temple on Mount Taintai in Zhejiang Province in China riding a tiger. Bukan reportedly took up residence in the library and rode the tiger around the monastery to shock the other inhabitants. The monk’s tiger-taming ability symbolically represents the power of his knowledge. Bukan is associated with Hanshan and Shide (Jittoku in Japanese), fellow poets who, like Bukan, were also monks living in seclusion at the Guoqing Temple. They are collectively known as the "Taintai Trio."
Collections

Additional Details

Exhibition History 2024-2025
Clinton, NY. The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College. "Menagerie: Animals in Art from the Wellin Museum," September 7, 2024 –June 8, 2025 (no cat.).
Provenance 1985: Hamilton College (Fred L. Emerson Gallery), by gift of Omar S. Pound
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