King of Hell (Yanluo) Roof Tile - Image 1

King of Hell (Yanluo) Roof Tile - Image 2

King of Hell (Yanluo) Roof Tile - Image 3

Public Domain

King of Hell (Yanluo) Roof Tile

1500-1699

Scroll

1500-1699

Physical Qualities Earthenware with polychrome lead glaze, 14 1/8 x 10 x 5 1/8 in. (35.9 x 25.4 x 13 cm.)

Credit Line Frank J. and Elizabeth L. Goodnow Collection

Object Number 1942.70.280

The figure represents one of the Chinese Kings of Hell, of which there are 10 in the Daoist and 18 in the Buddhist underworlds. The tile was probably made for a Daoist or Buddhist temple, where it would have mediated between the worlds of the living and the dead as well as aided in communicating with spirits.

The Baltimore Museum of Art by bequest to the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, 1942; Goodnow Collection, Baltimore; probably acquired by Elizabeth Goodnow in China, c. 1912-1913

Explore the Collection Further

AFRICA, THE AMERICAS, ASIA, AND THE PACIFIC ISLANDS

James McNeill Whistler

Plate XXIII from the book "A Catalogue of Blue and White Porcelain forming the collection of Sir Henry Thompson (London: Elllis and White, 1878)," which reproduces pen and ink drawings by Whistler. One of a series of proofs, lacking the printed plate numbers and identifying numbers, of these illustrations in the Lucas Collection.

1877