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Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 29

Unknown

1204

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Ming Painting Medieval Religious Qianlong Reign

Dominant colour

Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 29 is a 1204 unspecified by Unknown, a Ming Painting work, depicting Qianlong Reign, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1204 · Ming Painting
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

A robed figure sits on a throne, holding a flat ivory plaque. Behind him, a long scroll shows a map-like plan of buildings. The colors are soft—reds, blues, and golds—with fine black outlines. This is one of the Ten Kings of Hell from Chinese Buddhist tradition. Each king rules a different underworld realm. Here, the king looks kind, not scary, which is unusual. The scroll next to him might be a record of deeds or a map of punishments. To see more works like this, look up subject: china, southern song dynasty (1127-1279).

The story of this work

Overview

This leaf belongs to the album’s second series of narratives, Ten Kings of Hells . It demonstrates a Chinese-Buddhist approach in which the netherworld is divided into ten realms, each ruled by one of these kings. This particular version portrays the king in a benevolent guise, though his identity remains unclear. He is draped in a robe and holds an ivory plaque. A vertical scroll hangs to his left, depicting in the lower two-thirds a rectangular architectural plan with buildings aligned in a symmetrical arrangement not unlike a Buddhist temple or a Confucian shrine. Above, the scene also…