Avalokiteshvara as Shadakshari Lokeshvara

Signature: The Sanskrit inscription at the top of the hanging occurs in two lines. The first consists of the letter hrih, a seed syllable associated with the deity. The second line is a six-syllable mantra: om mani pa dme hum (Hail to the jewel lotus).

The Tibetan inscription is a verse, which has been variously translated as follows:

1. "May there be the auspicious blessings of the Three Jewels / Which [bring] well-being in the daytime, well-being at night, / And also well-being at midday -- / Well-being always, day and night!"
Translation by Thomas F. Yarnall of the verse on the piece in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago (fig. 2).

2. "Joy in the morning, joy in the evening; / When the sun is at its zenith, joy; / The Three Jewels are a joy day and night, / May they be auspicious."
Translation by Richard Kohn of the verse on the piece in the collection of The San Francisco Asian Art Museum (fig. 3).

[ Jacqueline Simcox Ltd. , London, until 2002; sold to MMA]

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Defining Yongle, Imperial Art in Early Fifteenth-Century China," April 1–July 10, 2005.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Textiles of the Ming Dynasty," February 11–August 2, 2009.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900," February 27, 2025–September 28, 2025.

Watt, James C. Y., and Denise Patry Leidy. Defining Yongle: Imperial Art in Early Fifteenth-Century China. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005, pp. 83–84, pl. 33.