Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

Description The inscription around the base states that this Lokeshvara was commissioned by a Buddhist monk ("bhiksu") for his own use. This may indicate that not only was it used as a personal votive object but that the monk would receive the rewards for having it made. (Usually inscriptions dedicate these rewards to a family member.)

Exhibitions

• Desire and Devotion: Art from India, Nepal, and Tibet in the John and Berthe Ford Collection. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque; Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham; Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong. 2001-2003.

Provenance Ian Alsop, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, December 15, 1980, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2021, by gift.

Credit Gift of John and Berthe Ford, 2021