Shakyamuni with the Sixteen Benevolent Deities
Unknown Artist
mid- to late 1300s
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink, color, gold and cut gold on silk
Dimensions
198.7 × 74.7 cm · painting: 106.5 × 56.6 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Henry S. Upson, 25th Anniversary Gift
Accession Number
1941.279
About this artwork
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.