仏伝図|Scene from the Life of the Buddha

Created in Japan in 1420, this silk painting depicting scenes from the Buddha's life was originally executed as a section of a wall panel before being remounted as a hanging scroll. The work utilizes ink, color, and gold on silk. While the specific artist remains unknown and no records of the original commission survive within the provided data, the piece is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The transformation from architectural decoration to a portable scroll format marks a significant phase in the object's physical history, though details regarding intermediate owners or the exact circumstances of its removal from a wall are not documented in the available sources.

The 1420 painting commonly referred to as 仏伝図|Scene from the Life of the Buddha exemplifies anonymous Japanese Buddhist art of the early 15th century. Executed in ink, color and gold on silk as a wall-panel section mounted as a hanging scroll, it depicts a Buddha figure alongside an attendant within a palace setting. Its presence in the Met's collection has prompted scholarly attention to anonymous Buddhist paintings as key indicators of devotional visual culture in Japan, illustrating how narrative cycles were employed to convey religious teachings.

The work's stylistic and technical characteristics contribute to the broader understanding of religious painting traditions in East Asia during this period.

This hanging scroll, titled Scene from the Life of the Buddha (仏伝図), is rendered with ink, color, and gold on silk. It depicts a segment of a larger narrative, featuring a golden palace, small figures in red attire, and a white elephant depicted above the structure. The work exemplifies traditional Buddhist narrative painting, originally designed for a temple setting.