Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Procession of Daoist Deities: Leaf 4 (1200s): Art, History and Details

Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Procession of Daoist Deities: Leaf 4 (1200s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Leaf 4 depicts one of the sanguan 三官大帝 (Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water) in the Daoist pantheon. These "officials" work as intermediaries between human beings and the bureaucracy of the netherworld. This deity, riding on a lively steed, most likely represents the "Official of Earth" 地官. Leading the way, his entourage includes a host of protective guards who carry his sword and chair, hoist his parasol and flags, or simply hold their own weapons. These figures all walk on clouds, moving along with a strong wind that causes the parasol and flags to flutter, creating a sense of overall motion.

Object facts

• Title: Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Procession of Daoist Deities: Leaf 4
• Date: 1200s
• Culture: China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Album; ink on paper
• Dimensions: Painting: 34.3 x 38.5 cm (13 1/2 x 15 3/16 in.); Overall: 39 x 41.4 cm (15 3/8 x 16 5/16 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Album leaf
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 2004.1.4

A detail from the museum

A demonic figure on the far left of the entourage is carrying a hunting dog on his shoulder.

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund in honor of Dr. Ju-hsi Chou and Gift of various donors to the department of Asian Art (by exchange)

Further reading listed by the museum

• Martin, F. R. Zeichnungen nach Wu tao-tze aus der götter- und sagenwelt Chinas. München: F. Bruckmann a.g, 1913.
• Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.