id: 136572 accession number: 1961.135 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1961.135 updated: 2023-03-24 11:13:13.299000 Amitābha Triad, possibly 1400s. China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk; image: 95.3 x 50.2 cm (37 1/2 x 19 3/4 in.); overall: 196.2 x 73.3 cm (77 1/4 x 28 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Warren H. Corning, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert F. Leisy, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar J. Lange, and Leon Fletcher, Jr. 1961.135 title: Amitābha Triad title in original language: 阿彌陀三尊圖 series: series in original language: creation date: possibly 1400s creation date earliest: 1400 creation date latest: 1499 current location: creditline: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Warren H. Corning, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert F. Leisy, Mr. and Mrs. Oscar J. Lange, and Leon Fletcher, Jr. copyright: --- culture: China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) technique: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk department: Chinese Art collection: ASIAN - Hanging scroll type: Painting find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Image: 95.3 x 50.2 cm (37 1/2 x 19 3/4 in.); Overall: 196.2 x 73.3 cm (77 1/4 x 28 7/8 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Year in Review (1961) opening date: 1961-11-01T05:00:00 Year in Review (1961). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 1-26, 1961). title: The Art of Southern Sung China opening date: 1962-02-15T05:00:00 The Art of Southern Sung China. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (February 15-April 15, 1962). title: Korean Gallery 236 Rotation opening date: 2018-07-16T04:00:00 Korean Gallery 236 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 16, 2018-January 20, 2019). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 237). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (May 29, 2013-December 23, 2013). --- PROVENANCE (Hollis & Company, Cleveland, OH, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) date: ?–1961 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1961– footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: This hanging scroll illustrates a dramatic apparition of Buddha Amitābha (阿彌陀 in Chinese) and the two attendant bodhisattvas, or saintly beings, 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); and 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. 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 naturalistic rendition of flowing garments identifies it as an excellent example of early Ming period Chinese Buddhist painting. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. page number: Reproduced: p. 365 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n385 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. page number: Reproduced: fig. 1, p. 29 url: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20079712 --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1961.135/1961.135_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1961.135/1961.135_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1961.135/1961.135_full.tif