The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Monju as a Child

Monju as a Child

1400s–1500s
Overall: 61.7 x 38.7 cm (24 5/16 x 15 1/4 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

In this work, a young boy dressed in Japanese court costume holds a sword and sacred text, symbols of wisdom carried by the bodhisattva Monju, and rides a lion, also associated with that Buddhist deity. As boy and lion pass beneath a sketchily inked tree, the lion pauses, right foreleg suspended in midair, and the pair looks back. The relatively naturalist posing and sensibility of the painting, as well as the boy’s attire, suggest the possibility that he is a manifestation of a Wakamiya, a youthful kami (a Japanese deity), whose Buddhist counterpart is Monju.
  • ?–1992
    Maud Eells Corning [1908–1991], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1992–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Animals in Japanese Art (Japanese art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24-December 10, 2023).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 236). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 24, 2013-July 21, 2014).
  • {{cite web|title=Monju as a Child|url=false|author=|year=1400s–1500s|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1992.385