CELESTIAL GENERALS

Marshal Wang

Marshal Wang

Deity
Wang Lingguan
Painting Type
Scroll Painting
Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
Date / Period
Ming dynasty (1368–1644), dated 1542
Artist
Unidentified artist
Institution
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Collection
Asian Art
Medium / Material
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
Image: 38 3/4 x 24 5/8 in. (98.4 x 62.5 cm) Overall with mounting: 83 x 27 in. (210.8 x 68.6 cm) Overall with knobs: 83 x 30 5/8 in. (210.8 x 77.8 cm)
Accession Number
1989.155
Source
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Open Access, object 41474.

Description

Marshal Wang. Hanging scroll; Ming dynasty (1368–1644), dated 1542; Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk.
Marshal Wang, one of the fierce guardian deities of Daoism, is charged with protecting Daoist temples. Like many popular Daoist deities, Wang was originally a human who was posthumously deified and revered as a god. Here, he rides a flaming wheel, vanquishing the evil serpent spirits in the river below. The gold inscription at upper right indicates that this painting was commissioned by an imperial concubine at the court of the Ming emperor Jiajing, a generous patron of Daoism.

Iconography & Attributes

Depicted with a third eye on his forehead, Wang Lingguan is able to discern good and evil. He has a red face, curly beard, golden armor, and crimson robe, and carries a golden seal in his left hand and a golden whip in his right while riding wind-fire wheels. As a powerful guardian deity, he is traditionally enshrined in the Lingguan Hall, the first guardian hall at the entrance of Daoist temples.