Open full image Pin

Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Procession of Daoist Deities: Leaf 25

Unknown

1204

unspecified

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Ming Painting Medieval Religious

Dominant colour

Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Procession of Daoist Deities: Leaf 25 is a 1204 unspecified by Unknown, a Ming Painting work, 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

You see twelve figures in long robes marching in a line, each with an animal at their feet. These aren’t just gods—they’re the Earthly Branches, part of an old Chinese timekeeping system. Each figure pairs with a zodiac animal, like the rat or dragon. The artist left out the Heavenly Stems, so this page feels like a missing puzzle piece. To see more paintings like this, look up *subject: china, southern song dynasty (1127-1279)*.

The story of this work

Overview

These twelve figures are personifications of the dizhi 地支, or Earthly Branches. Each is accompanied by its corresponding animal in the Chinese zodiac. The Earthly Branches would normally be accompanied by the ten Heavenly Stems, or tiangan 天干, which suggests a missing leaf.

Read the full account in the museum source.