Hyeonwang Painting of Cheongnyeonsa Temple, Ganghwa

Set against a C-shaped yellow wall like a folding screen, the composition centres on Hyeonwang - a judge deity venerated in Buddhist funerary rites, said to pass initial judgement on the deceased soon after death - seated on a chair in the middle, surrounded by his retinue of sage kings, magistrates, recorders, and boy and girl attendants. Hyeonwang, the subject of the painting, wears a crown topped with a sutra box and sits on a chair. His right hand rests on his chest while his left hand turns the pages of a book and points to something; a green halo is depicted around his head. Sage kings flank him on the left and right, and below are shown a magistrate holding a sutra scroll and sutra box, a recorder taking notes, messengers, and boy and girl attendants. Behind the chair on which Hyeonwang sits, small figures are depicted holding banners, fans and tridents, standing guard over him. The figures' costumes are mainly rendered in red and blue, with yellow and white also used. The painting was made in 1881, the eighteenth year of Emperor Gojong's reign, and measures 104.5 cm wide and 156 cm high.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Ganghwa, Incheon

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산