The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 27

Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 27

1200s
(1127-1279)
Album, ink on paper
Sheet: 34 x 38.4 cm (13 3/8 x 15 1/8 in.)
John L. Severance Fund in honor of Dr. Ju-hsi Chou and Gift of various donors to the department of Asian Art (by exchange) 2004.1.27
Location: not on view

Description

This leaf is part of a set depicting the Ten Kings of Hell. The theme transforms the Indian Buddhist view of judgment after death into a typical Chinese bureaucratic process. Before being permitted to transmigrate into the next life, a soul is tried by 10 different kings in a process that lasts three years.

Each king is assisted by scribes and officials who report on the good and bad deeds upon which a verdict is given. In the foreground, demons conduct punishments. The inscription here refers to the 12 functionaries assisting the king.
  • Wang Hui 王翬 [1632–1717]
    Li Jiale 李嘉樂 [jinshi of 1863]
    Zhu Hang 朱沆 [active 19th century]
    1910–?
    Dr. F. R. (Fredrik Robert) Martin [1868–1933], Stockholm, Sweden, and Munich, Germany
    ?–1947
    Mrs. L. M. Morris [20th century], England
    March 25, 1947
    (Sotheby's, London, sale, 25 March 1947, lot 118, sold to Stephen Junkunc III)
    1947–78
    István “Stephen" Junkunc III [1904–1978], by descent to his son Stephen Junkunc IV
    1978–2004
    (Stephen Junkunc IV [b. 1937], Miami, FL, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2004–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Wu, Tao-tzu, and F. R. Martin. Zeichnungen nach Wu tao-tze aus der götter- und sagenwelt Chinas. München: F. Bruckmann a.g, 1913.
    Christie, Manson & Woods International Inc. Fine Chinese Ceramics, Paintings and Works of Art. 21 September 2000. Lot 204. Reproduced: pp. 141-46
    Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. Reproduced: pp. 174-195
  • Taming Tigers and Releasing Dragons: Masterpieces of Chinese Buddhist Art – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 8-August 11, 2019).
  • {{cite web|title=Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 27|url=false|author=|year=1200s|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2004.1.27