Artwork Page for Shakyamuni with the Sixteen Benevolent Deities

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Shakyamuni with the Sixteen Benevolent Deities

釈迦三尊十六善神像

mid- to late 1300s

Japan, Nanbokuchō period

(1336–92)
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink, color, gold and cut gold on silk
Measurements
Painting: 106.5 x 56.6 cm (41 15/16 x 22 5/16 in.); Overall with knobs and cord: 201.5 x 80.4 cm (79 5/16 x 31 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Henry S. Upson, 25th Anniversary Gift 1941.279
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

This painting would have been the main icon for ceremonial readings of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra.

Description

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.
A hanging scroll with a brown background outlines multiple figures, detailed in muted red and light green. In the upper center and largest sits the cross-legged Buddha Shakyamuni with Fugen and Monju flanking the base of his pedestal and about half his size but all with light skin tones. More figures with medium or blue skin tones flank them, wearing multi-color, ornate garments and headdresses whose muted and worn away colors fade into the dark background.

Shakyamuni with the Sixteen Benevolent Deities

mid- to late 1300s

Japan, Nanbokuchō period (1336–92)

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