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Bodhisattva Guanyin

datable to1678
Not on view
Like many Buddhist sculptures, this one originally contained, in its hollow interior, a paper dedication inscribed with the patron’s wishes. Though the bodhisattva does not take the outward form of Guanyin the Bringer of Sons, the inscription expresses the patron’s hope for a male heir: “The [Buddhist] believers Kong Xishan and his wife wholeheartedly commission the carving of this golden-bodied Guanyin in order to entreat [Guanyin] to fulfill our wishes that we may live together to old age and have a fine son soon.”

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 清康熙 檀木雕觀音像
  • Title: Bodhisattva Guanyin
  • Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
  • Date: datable to1678
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Sandalwood with lacquer and gilding, single-woodblock construction
  • Dimensions: H. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm); W. 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm); D. 2 in. (5.1 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Gift of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, 1962
  • Object Number: 62.219a, b
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
Pipa (琵琶 ), Wood, ivory, bone, silk, Chinese
Pipa (琵琶 )
Chinese
late 16th–early 17th century
Bodhisattva Guanyin, Sandalwood with lacquer, China
Bodhisattva Guanyin
China
datable to 1624
Dung-Chen, Brass, copper, cloisonné, Chinese
Dung-Chen
Chinese
1368–1644
Guanyin the Bringer of Sons, Sandalwood with traces of pigment and gilding, China
Guanyin the Bringer of Sons
China
17th century
Bo gu tu, Fu Wang Chinese
Bo gu tu
Author Fu Wang
1752

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