FOUR TEMPLE PAINTINGS DEPICTING TRIBUNALS OF THE HELL KINGS

Estimated Value:

2.500 € - 3.500 €

Result:

incl. Premium and VAT

Description:

China, ca. 18th c.
123,5 x 70 cm (130 x 76 cm R.)
Pigments on canvas, wood frame with mirror strips. Three paintings each show the court of one of the Ten Kings of Hell: The Bianchengwang (judge of the 6th hell, here inscribed 7th hell). In front of him, two demons are sawing a punished person to death; the Yanluowang (judge of the 5th hell), who is recognizable by his dark face. He is flanked by officials and the two guards - "Ox Head" and "Horse Face. In the foreground is the Naihe Bridge ("Bridge of Helplessness") over a river of blood full of "Lonely Spirits and Feral Ghosts" as well as insects and snakes, which every soul must cross; Another court with a similar depiction. The fourth picture shows the transfer of the souls to the hell, where the two demons "Heibai Wuchang" ("Black and White Impermanence") are visible.
European private collection, acquired before 2007 - Signs of age, cracks, partly rest.
Both in Buddhism and Daoism, there is the hell, where one is punished for misconduct after death. The hell has ten individual hells, each ruled by a king. This is where people's books of life are administered. After the judgment, the soul wanders through the various hells to receive its punishment. In the end, the "sinners" will also be reborn. Before that, they drink a potion of forgetfulness so that they no longer remember the past life and the torments of hell

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