Iconographical Drawing of the Mandala of the Wisdom King Aizen

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This drawing describes a mandala used in ritual to prevent disaster and increase happiness. Fierce and angry at center, the Wisdom King Aizen is joined by three bodhisattvas, identifiable by their circular body haloes, and three other Wisdom Kings, each wrathful like Aizen and surrounded by flames and carrying weapons. The monk who transcribed this scroll in 1107 at the temple Shōren’in in Kyoto left indications of which colors, white or red, were to be used for the flesh of several of the deities. Though not noted, blue was conventionally employed for the Wisdom Kings at lower left and right.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art