Frontispiece for the Lotus Sutra
Unknown Artist
late 1100s
Medium
handscroll, gold ink on indigo sutra paper
Dimensions
27.9 × 1182.1 cm · image: 27.8 × 81 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1970.64
About this artwork
The frontispiece of this sutra, a sacred Buddhist scripture, illustrates episodes mentioned in the Buddha’s teaching. The sutra begins with a description of the historic Buddha Shakyamuni’s assembly on Vulture Peak. On the right, the Buddha sits amid members of his congregation: lohans (or arhats), bodhisattvas, gods, and other beings. The narrative proceeds from right to left. Heavenly light emanates from Shakyamuni’s brow to “illuminate the eighteen thousand worlds to the east.” Illustrated im...