Creative Commons License
Architectural Tile with Sha Wùjìng
(China )
The book "Journey to the West," published in the late 16th century, is a combination of fact, fancy, and allegory that tells of the adventures of a Chinese Buddhist monk who goes on a search for Buddhist scriptures. The monk first encounters the main figure in this statue, Sha Wùjìng, as a demon guarding a river. Sha Wùjìng eventually becomes the third of the monk's three helpers. The first (a small figure on the right) is a monkey; the second (on the left) has the face of a pig.
The tile is glazed in dark, crackled and mottled greens and browns.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Edward Bassett, London [date and mode of aquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1926, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
China, Beijing (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 23 1/4 in. (59 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1926
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
49.2230