Artwork

唐法慧等菩薩像二幅|Two Buddhist Paintings

唐法慧等菩薩像二幅|Two Buddhist Paintings is an ink painting. It dates from 670 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Two early Buddhist paintings, executed on paper using ink and color, survive as a single leaf and an accordion‑fold manuscript.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The dragon, a traditional symbol of divine power and protection in Chinese Buddhist art, underscores the celestial context of the sacred subject.

The two Tang dynasty Buddhist paintings, attributed to the circle of the monk Fahui, portray a dragon motif that functions as an iconographic attribute of the Bodhisattva. Rendered in ink and color on a single leaf of an accordion‑fold manuscript, each work dates to 670 and 797 respectively and belongs to the religious painting genre. The dragon, a traditional symbol of divine power and protection in Chinese Buddhist art, underscores the celestial context of the sacred subject.

Held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the pair exemplifies early Chinese Buddhist visual theology, where the dragon serves as a protective emblem surrounding the sacred figure.

Technique & Style

The two Buddhist paintings are rendered in ink and color on paper as a single leaf accordion‑fold manuscript, a format typical of Tang‑period religious manuscripts. They depict a dragon, a common symbolic motif in Buddhist iconography, and are classified as religious paintings. The works belong to the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection and were made in China.

The artist is recorded as anonymous. The paintings are dated to 670 (a) and 797 (b), placing them in the late 7th and late 8th centuries.

History & Provenance

The two Buddhist paintings attributed to Fa Hui and others from the Tang dynasty are held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. While the artworks are dated to 670 and 797 respectively, the provided records do not specify individual accession numbers or inventory codes for these items. Furthermore, no information regarding their exhibition history is available in the current sources.

Overview

Two early Buddhist paintings, executed on paper using ink and color, survive as a single leaf and an accordion‑fold manuscript. The works date to 670 and 797 CE, respectively, and depict typical Buddhist iconography such as bodhisattvas accompanied by dragons and other symbolic motifs.

Context

During the seventh and eighth centuries, Buddhist visual culture was expanding across East Asia, often adapting local artistic vocabularies. The unusual incorporation of Mexican stylistic features reflects a rare instance of transcontinental artistic exchange, highlighting the fluidity of visual language in religious contexts.