Vessantara and his family enter the forest, a scene from the next-to-last life of the Buddha (Vessantara Jataka)
Matted: H. 28 in × W. 22 1/16 in (71.1 cm × 56 cm)
Complete sets of the standard thirteen paintings for the recitation of the story of Prince Vessantara are extremely rare. Once a set of paintings was used in a recitation it might not have been used again, and no particular provision may have been made to preserve it. The number of single paintings or small groups of paintings surviving from sets suggests that sets were often broken up and dispersed.
This set [2006.27.80.1-.13] probably about 120 years old, remains in fair condition. Most details of the paintings, though scratched and abraded, can still be made out, but the inscriptions along the bottom edges have suffered considerable damage and are now only partly legible.
Just as the recitation of the "Great Life" was sometimes accompanied by sound effects and naughty side-stories, in this set of paintings the artist enlivens the main story with bawdy vignettes, monkeyshines, and amusing anachronisms. The artist's interest in some aspects of classical Western landscape painting is also apparent.
[2006.27.80.4] Chapter 4
The family travels on, eventually reaching the forest where they will start their new life. The architect of the gods builds them a hermitage.
Here the Vessantara and his wife carry their children as they walk through a peaceful forest, but the danger they face is suggested by the fact that three families of gentle animals nearby are stalked by a tiger.
