Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Kings of Hells: Leaf 27
Unknown Artist
1200s
Medium
Album, ink on paper
Dimensions
sheet: 34 × 38.4 cm · painting: 34.1 × 38.4 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund in honor of Dr. Ju-hsi Chou and Gift of various donors to the department of Asian Art (by exchange)
Accession Number
2004.1.27
About this artwork
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 t...