The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 25, 2023

Barbarian Royalty Worshiping the Buddha

蠻王禮佛圖

900s

attributed to Zhao Guangfu 趙光輔

(Chinese, c. 923–976)

China, Northern Song dynasty

(960-1127)

Handscroll, ink and color on silk

Overall: 28.6 x 103.5 cm (11 1/4 x 40 3/4 in.)

Gift of Severance and Greta Millikin 1957.358

Location

not on view

Inscriptions

Inscription

Colophon (postscript) by Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322): Buddhism has been in China for thousands of years. Consequently, the Buddha’s image can be seen in every household. Those who saw such images would have naturally shown a respectful attitude. Whether it was done by a past master or a modern version is immaterial. [Signature] Zi'ang [seal] Zhao Shi Zi'ang 佛法入中國千餘年。殆是家有其像。見之者悉起敬心，不當以古今畫手分別也。 子昂 [印]趙氏子昂

Inscription

Colophon by Guo Bi (1280-1335): A transcription of Zheng fa yan zang ming bing xu 正法眼藏銘幷序 by Wuwei Jushi 無為居士 Signature: Situi Jushi Guo Bi 思退居士郭畀. 2 seals.

Inscription

Spurious artist's signature: Zhao Guangfu

Inscription

1 seal of the Li family (Yuan Dynasty)

Inscription

14 seals of Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736-95)

Inscription

1 seal of Jiaqing Emperor (r. 1796-1820)

Inscription

1 seal of Xuantong Emperor (r. 1909-11)

Inscription

1 official seal of the Yuan dynasty, “Tian li zhi bao 天曆之寶” (Treasure of Tianli), Tianli being the reign of Emperor Wenzong (r. 1329-32).

Provenance
1300s
Daoist Wukeliao 無可了道人 [1300s]
c. 1328-30
Yuan imperial collection (seal of Emperor Wenzong, Tianli era [1328–30]), Beijing, China
c. 1736-1911
Qing imperial collection (seals of Emperors Qianlong [r. 1736–1795], Jiaqing [r. 1796–1820], and Xuantong [r. 1909–1911]), Beijing, China
?-1957
(Walter Hochstadter [1914–2007], New York, NY, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Severance A. Millikin)
1957
Mr. Severance A. Millikin [1895-1985] and Mrs. Greta Millikin [1903-1989], Cleveland Heights, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1957-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. p. 29
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 852 archive.org
Goepper, Roger. 1000 Jahre chinesische Malerei. München: Haus der Kunst, 1959. cat. no. 8
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 258 archive.org
National Gallery of Canada, and Expo (International Exhibitions Bureau). Terre Des Hommes: Exposition Internationale Des Beaux-Arts, 28 Avril-27 Octobre 1967 [= Man and His World, International Fine Arts Exhibition, Expo 67, Montreal, Canada, 28 April-27 October 1967]. Montréal: Expo 67, 1967. cat. no. 168
Lee, Sherman E., and Wai-kam Ho. Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yüan Dynasty, 1279-1368. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art; [distributed by the Press of Case Western Reserve University], 1968. cat. no. 275
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 258 archive.org
Zeng Ecke, Youhe. Chinese Calligraphy. [Philadelphia]: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1971. cat. no. 36
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 340 archive.org
Ho, Wai-kam, Sherman E. Lee, Laurence Sickman, and Marc F. Wilson. Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting: The Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1980. Reproduced: cat. no. 46, p. 60
Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. p. 29
Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. Mentioned: p. 29
Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. p. 29
Exhibition history

1000 Jahre. Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany (October 16-December 13, 1959).

Chinese Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1960).

Man and His World [= Terre Des Hommes]. International Fine Arts Exhibition, EXPO, Montreal, Canada (April 28-October 27, 1967).

Chinese Calligraphy. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA (September 25-November 7, 1971).

1000 Jahre Chinesische Malerei. Haus der Kunst, Munich, Mùnich, Germany (organizer) (October 16-December 13, 1959).

Man and His World. Expo 67, Montreal, Canada (organizer) (April 27-October 28, 1967).

Chinese Calligraphy. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA (organizer) (September 25-November 7, 1971); The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO (January 6-February 6, 1972); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (March 14-May 7, 1972).

Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982).

Silent Poetry: Masterworks of Chinese Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 14, 2015-April 24, 2016).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1957.358