2-999-941 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Hvashang, 18th century. Children play around the portly Hvashang, who holds a lemon. A Tibetan addition to an old group of sixteen Buddhist saints, Hvashang was thought by some to have lived in China around the 14th century. Below him are two of the kings of the four quarters of space. They serve as protectors in Hvashang's spiritual quest, in which he is directed by the figures above--a Buddha (Akshobhya) and a Bodhisattva (Maitreya). Origianlly this painting was part of a set that included all sixteen saints.