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Head of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

last quarter of the 7th century
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
This head of the savior Avalokiteshvara bears eloquent witness to the importance of the Mahayana Buddhist cult of the bodhisattva in pre-Angkorian Cambodia. It signals a taste for large devotional sculptures, undoubtedly installed in well-endowed temples where they would have served as important cult icons. The sensitively modeled and incised facial rendering and the distinctive braided crown of matted hair (jatamukuta) links this head to other seventh-century figures, some of which must share common workshops. The production of Brahmanical and Buddhist imagery in the same workshops seems clear.

cat. no. 135

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Head of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
  • Date: last quarter of the 7th century
  • Culture: Central Cambodia
  • Medium: Sandstone
  • Dimensions: H. 8 11/16 in. (22 cm); W. 4 3/4 in. (12 cm); D. 4 3/4 in. (12 cm); Wt. 11 lbs (5 kg)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Lent by Musée National des Arts Asiatiques–Guimet, Paris (MA2554)
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art