Bodhisattva of Compassion, Guanyin, Seated in "Royal Ease"
China
(Jin dynasty (1115-1234))
Bodhisattva of Compassion, Guanyin, Seated in "Royal Ease"
DateJin dynasty (1115-1234)
Mediumwood
Dimensionsobject: 52 × 29 × 22 in. (132.1 × 73.7 × 55.9 cm)
crate: 70 × 52 × 40 in., 457 lb. (177.8 × 132.1 × 101.6 cm, 207.3 kg)
ClassificationSCULPTURE
Credit LineSBMA, Gift of Ina T. Campbell and Wright S. Ludington
Object number1947.1
Subject(s)
- Buddhism
- religion
- figure
Collection
- Asian
Sub-Collection(s)
- Chinese
On View
On viewLabel TextGuanyin, or Avalokitesvara in Sanskrit, which literally means “He Who Observes the Sounds of the World”, is the Buddhist Bodhisattva of Compassion who answers all prayers and protects the faithful from calamities. This sculpture would have been placed high in a temple, referencing Guanyin’s mountainous grotto residence from which he gazes down on mankind. This figure and the Standing Guanyin in this gallery are two of the few surviving wooden sculptures from the 12th and 13th centuries, a time when the growing popularity of Buddhism led to more humanized portrayals of deities.
Japan
Edo period, 17th-18th century