Amitābha Triad (possibly 1400s): Art, History and Details

Amitābha Triad (possibly 1400s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This hanging scroll illustrates an apparition of Buddha Amitābha (阿彌陀 in Chinese) and two attendant bodhisattvas, in the midst of colorful light and swirling clouds. The one who carries a miniature image of Amitābha in its jeweled crown is Avalokiteśvara (觀音 in Chinese); the other who carries a flower vase is Mahāsthāmaprāpta (大勢至 in Chinese). Previously, this work was identified as a rare example of a Korean Buddhist painting from the early Joseon period. In contrast to surviving Korean works from this time the scroll stands out for its fine details. However, other elements such as the striped almond-shaped halo that encircles the main Buddha, firm red lines that define each deity’s facial features, and the flowing garments may identify it as an early Ming period Chinese Buddhist painting.

Object facts

• Title: Amitābha Triad
• Date: possibly 1400s
• Culture: China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
• Dimensions: Painting: 95.3 x 50.2 cm (37 1/2 x 19 3/4 in.); Overall with knobs: 196.2 x 73.3 cm (77 1/4 x 28 7/8 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Hanging scroll
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1961.135

A detail from the museum

Amita is flanked by a pair of bodhisattvas, compassionate beings who aid others to reach enlightenment.

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Warren H. Corning, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert F. Leisy, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar J. Lange, and Leon Fletcher Jr.

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
• Shin, Junhyoung Michael. “The Face-to-Face Advent of the Amitābha Triad: A Fifteenth-Century Welcoming Descent.” Cleveland Studies in the History of Art, vol. 6, 2001, pp. 28–47.

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.