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Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin)

dated 1282
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 208
A removable panel in the back of this image gives access to a hollow interior that would have been filled with offerings at the time of the piece’s consecration. The interior surface of the panel bears a date (1282) and a small bronze mirror (34.15.2) that functioned as a protective talisman.

The bodhisattva has a rounded physique and stands in a slightly twisting pose, which creates a sense of depth. Both conventions attest to the introduction of Indo-Himalayan sculptural traditions in China in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, when the Mongols controlled both China and parts of Tibet. The elaborate coiffure also derives from these traditions.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 元至元十九年 彩繪木雕觀音菩薩像（柳木胎）
  • Title: Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin)
  • Period: Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
  • Date: dated 1282
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Wood (wiillow) with traces of pigment; single woodblock construction
  • Dimensions: a) Guanyin: 39 1/4 in. (99.7 cm)
    b) Inscribed block: H. 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm); W. 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm); D. 1 in. (2.5 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1934
  • Object Number: 34.15.1a, b
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Miniature Votive Mirror, Bronze, China
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The Spiritual Master Padmasambhava, Copper alloy with copper and silver inlay, Western Tibet or Ladakh
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Buddha Shakyamuni, Brass with colored pigments, Central Tibet
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Twenty-One Emanations of the Goddess Tara
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Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in Water Moon Form (Shuiyue Guanyin), Wood (willow) with traces of pigment; multiple-woodblock construction, China
Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in Water Moon Form (Shuiyue Guanyin)
China
11th century

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