Artwork Page for Barbarian Royalty Worshiping the Buddha

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Barbarian Royalty Worshiping the Buddha

蠻王禮佛圖

900s

attributed to Zhao Guangfu 趙光輔

(Chinese, c. 923–976)
Culture
China, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127)
Medium
Handscroll; ink and color on silk
Measurements
Painting section: 28.6 x 103.5 cm (11 1/4 x 40 3/4 in.); Overall with colophon: 28.6 x 667.7 cm (11 1/4 x 262 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Severance and Greta Millikin 1957.358
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Sixteen "barbarians" pay homage to the Buddha, who is seated on a lotus throne with two disciples and two guardians.

Description

This painting begins on the right with 15 people following a dignified figure wearing headgear with twin pheasant feathers. He extends an incense burner toward the Buddha, who is seated on his lotus throne and flanked by two haloed disciples and two Heavenly Kings. The worshipers’ diverse physical features, regional finery, and religious affiliations suggest the universal appeal of Buddhism.

The imagery was inspired by the foreign envoys who frequently came to the Chinese court to give tribute to the emperor. At the time, all outsiders were considered “barbarians,” so their presence was seen as acknowledgment of China’s political and cultural power.
Horizontally long handscroll, the left half filled with tightly packed Chinese calligraphy and the right depicting a group of sixteen people standing gathered before the Buddha. The Buddha sits cross-legged in a pink robe on a lotus throne, flanked by four people. The people gathered before him wear different combinations of robes and trousers and have various colors of hair and hairstyles. One steps forward, bowing his head and holding out an incense burner.

Barbarian Royalty Worshiping the Buddha

900s

Zhao Guangfu

(Chinese, c. 923–976)
China, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127)

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