Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin)
It is rare to find a sculpture of Avalokiteshvara seated with his legs folded as if in meditation. He is most often shown standing or seated with one leg bent and the other pendent—a pose known as “royal ease.” One exception is when Avalokiteshvara appears in scenes of the Pure Land of the Buddha Amitabha. It is possible that this sculpture was part of such a composition.
Artwork Details
- 北宋 彩繪木雕觀音菩薩像（地黃木胎）
- Title: Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin)
- Period: possibly Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)
- Date: late 10th–early 11th century
- Culture: China
- Medium: Wood (foxglove) with pigments, gilding, quartz and carnelian; single woodblock construction
- Dimensions: H. 37 in. (94 cm); W. 24 in. (61 cm); D. 18 in. (45.7 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1933
- Object Number: 33.116
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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early 7th century
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dated 486 (10th year of Taihe reign)
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