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Met Returns Joseon-Era ‘Tenth King of Hell’ Panel to Sinheung Temple

The handover follows coordinated provenance research by Korean civic and religious groups with the museum.

Image
A reporter photographs "Siwangdo," one of a 10-piece Buddhist painting series depicting the 10 kings of the afterlife, as it is unveiled to the media in Seoul following its return from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on Nov. 14, 2025. (Yonhap)
This image, provided by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, shows the upper-right portion of "Siwangdo," one of a 10-piece Buddhist painting series depicting the 10 kings of the afterlife. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Overview

  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art repatriated the 1798 painting on Nov. 14 to Sinheung Temple in Sokcho, bringing the number of recovered panels in the Siwangdo series to seven.
  • Evidence from a 1942 Japanese survey and 1953–54 U.S. military photographs supports findings that the work was likely removed from the temple around 1954 during the postwar U.S. presence.
  • The Met acquired the panel in 2007 from collector Robert Moore via an LLC associated with dealer Michael C. Hughes, according to the museum’s provenance record.
  • Six related panels were returned by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2020, and Korean stakeholders continue efforts to locate the three still overseas.
  • Sinheung Temple will store the newly returned work and consider public display once appropriate sanctuary and security conditions are in place.