Heavenly King Virudhaka (1368–1644): Art, History and Details

Heavenly King Virudhaka (1368–1644) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Virudhaka, Lokapala or Heavenly King of the South, is one of four guardians placed at the entrance of Buddhist temple halls or hung on all four sides of an altar for protection against evil spirits. Having a blue face, Virudhaka wears armor and holds a sword. Demons flank the deity: one with open mouth and three eyes whirls a banner and holds a snake; the other has a dragon slung around his neck.

Object facts

• Title: Heavenly King Virudhaka
• Date: 1368–1644
• Culture: China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: hanging scroll; color on silk
• Dimensions: Painting only: 110 x 75.2 cm (43 5/16 x 29 5/8 in.); Overall: 243 x 95 cm (95 11/16 x 37 3/8 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Hanging scroll
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1918.544

A detail from the museum

The king's attribute is a sword carried in his right hand to protect the southern continent and the dharma, or Buddhist teaching.

Collection credit

Worcester R. Warner Collection

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.