The Eight Hosts of Deva, Naga, and Yakshi
Unknown Artist
1454
Medium
hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
226.5 × 111 cm · painting: 140.2 × 78.8 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1973.70.2
About this artwork
The grandest of the Buddhist mortuary rites is the Water-Land (shuilu) ritual. This esoteric ceremony is conducted for the salvation of “all souls of the dead on land and sea.” The ostentatious ritual was performed for imperial ancestors and high officials from the Song (960–1279) to the Ming dynasties and drew large crowds. On the second day of the weeklong ceremony, paintings are hung in the inner altar. This scroll represents the Eight Hosts of Celestial Nagas and Yakshis as described in the ...