Mogao Cave 17: Avalokitesvara, Ksitigarbha, and the Ten Kings of Hell

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Five Dynasties to Northern Song dynasty

Avalokitesvara and Ksitigarbha sit side by side on lotus thrones in the upper register of the painting. Avalokitesvara, on the left, has twelve heads and six arms. Ksitigarbha, wearing a headscarf and a monastic robe, holds a flaming wish-fulfilling jewel in the left hand and a monk’s staff in the right. The colorful nimbuses and aureoles of the two Bodhisattvas are outlined with flame patterns. A canopy and flying apsaras are painted above each figure. Below the Bodhisattvas, the monk Daoming, a golden lion, and the Ten Kings of Hell surround an altar and a large vase holding a peony flower. The Ten Kings each sit behind a table, accompanied by two attendants. A piece of silk painted with three male and three female figures is stitched onto the bottom of the painting. All the images are surrounded by a red border decorated with white dots.