Non-invasive visual and digital analytical approaches for iconographic interpretation of a severely deteriorated mural: a case study from Dabaoji Palace, Lijiang (China)

This article proposes a revised iconographic interpretation of a severely deteriorated mural located in the central section of the west wall of Dabaoji Palace in Lijiang, Yunnan, beneath a former window opening. Early documentation recorded the painting as already ‘flaked off and unrecognizable’. The study reassesses the mural’s fragmentary visual evidence using non-invasive visual and digital analytical methods. The mural measures approximately 0.76 × 0.94 m. The analysis is based on an in situ visual examination conducted in 2025 and on published photographic documentation, as on-site photography is currently restricted. Image processing techniques, including contrast enhancement and edge sharpening, were applied to improve the visibility of faint contour traces. Despite extensive loss of the paint layer, surviving halo traces and contour fragments suggest an original nine-figure composition consisting of a central principal figure symmetrically flanked by eight attendants. The preserved serpent crowns and possible hybrid human–serpent morphology indicate an identification within the Nāga/Nāgarāja iconographic domain. Comparative material from the Himalayan Art Resources database further supports interpreting the composition as part of a Nāga-king system structurally compatible with the Eight Great Nāgarājas framework. Situated within the late-Ming mural program of Dabaoji Palace (ca. 1523–1643), this study provides preliminary visual evidence for the possible localization of Tibetan Buddhist Nāga-king traditions in Lijiang.