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Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

second quarter of the 8th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 246
The savior Avalokiteshvara, identified by the seated image of the Buddha Amitabha in his headdress, embodies infinite Buddhist compassion. The cult of ascetic bodhisattvas—observe his simple attire—was particularly powerful in Southeast Asia during the seventh and eighth centuries. This bronze image has a high tin content which would have given it the appearance of silver when newly cast. It was undoubtedly the product of elite royal patronage, yet the region where it was discovered, in northeastern Thailand, remains an historical enigma. It may be linked to a polity referred to as Canasa, with a capital named Canasapura, somewhere in the Khorat Plateau of northeast Thailand. But associating this object with that kingdom is speculative at best. Essentially the polity responsible for this extraordinary high quality and high value object remains unknown.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
  • Date: second quarter of the 8th century
  • Culture: Plai Bat II Temple, Lahan Sai District, Buriram Province, Thailand
  • Medium: Copper alloy inlaid with silver and glass or obsidian
  • Dimensions: H. 56 in. (142.2 cm); W. 22 1/2 in. (57.2 cm); D. 15 1/4 in. (38.7 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1967
  • Object Number: 67.234
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

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Buddha Preaching, Copper alloy inlaid with silver and glass or obsidian, Plai Bat II Temple, Lahan Sai District, Buriram Province, Thailand
Buddha Preaching
Plai Bat II Temple, Lahan Sai District, Buriram Province, Thailand
8th century
Standing Four-Armed Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion, Bronze inlaid with obsidian(?), Northeast Thailand
Standing Four-Armed Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion
Northeast Thailand
8th–early 9th century
Buddha Seated under the Bodhi Tree, Terracotta with traces of red lacquer(?), Thailand (Buriram province, probably Prakhon Chai)
Buddha Seated under the Bodhi Tree
Thailand (Buriram province, probably Prakhon Chai)
7th–9th century
Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, Sandstone, Southern Thailand
Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
Southern Thailand
second half of the 7th century
Standing Buddha, Stone with traces of color, Thailand
Standing Buddha
Thailand
7th–8th century

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Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara - Plai Bat II Temple, Lahan Sai District, Buriram Province, Thailand - The Metropolitan Museum of Art