The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Shakyamuni with the Sixteen Benevolent Deities

Shakyamuni with the Sixteen Benevolent Deities

mid- to late 1300s
Painting: 106.5 x 56.6 cm (41 15/16 x 22 5/16 in.); Overall with knobs and cord: 201.5 x 80.4 cm (79 5/16 x 31 5/8 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This painting would have been the main icon for ceremonial readings of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra.

Description

The historical Buddha Shakyamuni forms a triad with the bodhisattvas Fugen and Monju. Sixteen deities who protect the Buddhist scripture called the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra surround them. At the bottom left stands the Chinese monk Xuanzang, noted as a Buddhist scholar and translator of religious texts from India, including the Great Wisdom Sutra.
  • When it was acquired this painting was mounted in a panel format with gold brocade borders and a red lacquer frame. Previous damage to the painting that occurred prior to the current mounting—such as horizontal lines of abrasion and horizontal splits—indicated that the painting had previously been a hanging scroll. As the painting was delaminating from the panel, and there was some very distracting inpainting to compensate for loss of Shakyamuni’s robes, it was decided to treat the painting. During treatment, which took place between 2016 and 2018, the painting was remounted in the original hanging scroll format thanks to funding from the Conservation Ambassadors group.
  • ?–1941
    Mrs. Henry S. [Mary Southworth] Upson [1859–1944], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1941–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Vilbar, Sinéad. “Protecting the Word.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 61, no. 1 (Winter 2021): 20–21. Reproduced: p. 21; Mentioned: pp. 20–21
  • Stories From Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).
  • {{cite web|title=Shakyamuni with the Sixteen Benevolent Deities|url=false|author=|year=mid- to late 1300s|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1941.279