Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
The Bodhisattva Guanyin
(China )
In this beautifully crafted statuette, Guanyin, the bodhisattva of compassion, wears a long, belted skirt and a shawl. Their headdress is decorated with an image of a celestial Buddha meditating on a lotus. Guanyin stands upright, holding a willow branch with which to sprinkle purifying sacred water stored in the flask that they carry in their left hand.
This Chinese sculpture expresses a transitional phase in Avalokiteshvara imagery that references the centuries-long journey that Buddhism took, initially from the first century in India, crossing the Himalayas and arriving in China by the third century. During that journey, representations of the bodhisattva became increasingly gender fluid. By the 12th century in China, the deity was most commonly represented as the feminized Guanyin.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Yamanaka & Co., New York, 1917; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1917; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| Examination | X-radiography | |
| 7/30/1974 | Treatment | cleaned |
Geographies
China, Yunnan (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 17 1/16 × W: 4 7/8 × D: 3 9/16 in. (43.3 × 12.4 × 9 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1917
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
54.1345