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Look below the peacock’s feet: at the right a shaven-headed man kneels with an axe, and at the left a red snake rises beside a tree stump.
Painted in the 11th century under the Liao dynasty, this is the oldest work in the pavilion, and its support is cotton rather than silk or paper. Its subject is Mahamayuri, the Peacock King, a Buddhist deity who is the peacock made divine: the bird eats poisonous snakes and insects, so the deity was trusted to drive away poisons and fears. The Tokyo National Museum notes that, unlike most wisdom kings, who look furious, the Peacock King has a gentle face.
Ink and colors on cotton (framed) · 141.4 × 88.3 cm · Art Institute of Chicago · Chinese painting: Liao and Yuan
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Details and source
- Museum title
- Mahamayuri Vidyaraja
- Artist
- Artist unknown Chinese
- Date
- Liao dynasty (916–1125), 11th century
- Medium
- Ink and colors on cotton (framed)
- Dimensions
- 141.4 × 88.3 cm (55 11/16 × 34 13/16 in.)
- Credit line
- Kate S. Buckingham Endowment
- Image license
- CC0 1.0 · Public domain
- Museum record
- Art Institute of Chicago
Galler’s rooms and hanging scale are imagined. The image is the museum’s original digital reproduction.