Origin: 8-9th C, Srivijaya
Found: Wat Phra Barommathat, Chaiya Surat Thani Province
Material: bronze with silver inlay
Dimension: H 63cm

This beautiful bust is all that remains of a complete statue of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, probably in the form of the universal savior Padmapani, meaning “lotus bearer”. Padmapani is one of Mahayana Buddhism’s celestial bodhisattvas, the immortal helpers of enlightened buddhas. Cast in the round, this finely crafted bronze is poised in the tribhanga or triple-flexion posture with a loincloth tied around the hips. The rounded face has downcast eyes beneath arched brows, the hair is intricately braided, and the sacred cord is decorated with the head of an antelope over the left shoulder. The ornaments that richly adorn him are typical of a bodhisattva and symbolize his enlightened experiences. Though this image is incomplete, Padmapani usually appears with right arm lowered, the hand in the wish-granting gesture, and the left hand holds the stem of a lotus flower. Most images of Padmapani also have a small effigy of Amithaba, the Buddha of Infinite Light, in the hair just above the forehead.

(National Museum Bangkok)

Origin: 12-13th C, Khmer, Bayon style
Found: Prasat Muang Singh, Saiyok, Kanchanaburi Province
Material: sandstone
Dimension: H 161cm

The skill, power, and sheer size of the Khmer Empire under King Jayavarman VII are evident in the details of this stone rendering of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in his radiating form. Jayavarman VII built roads and a network of rest houses and mercy centers linking the far-reaching outposts of his empire. To these outposts, Jayavarman VII sent many images carved in his likeness to promote Mahayana Buddhism and to portray himself as a compassionate ruler. Avalokiteshvara is the bodhisattva of mercy who emanated from the Amitabha Buddha’s eye while he was meditating. A figure of the Amitabha Buddha resides in front of the headdress and small depictions of him cover the statue; all represent the entirety of the universe that radiates from every pore of Avalokiteshvara’s skin. The closed eyes, enigmatic smile, fishtail panel of the loincloth, and the leaf-shape pendants in the belt reflect the Bayon style. The radiating form is known to be limited to this style and is, therefore, rare. One interpretation identifies the figures, centered on the chest and encircling the waist, as Prajnaparamita, goddess of transcendent wisdom, making this piece rarer still.

(National Museum Bangkok)

Found at the ancient town of Khua Bua, Mueang Ratchaburi District, Ratchaburi Province Dvaravati style, 7th - 8th C CE.

National Museum Bangkok

Found at Wat Phra Borommathat, Chaiya District, Surat Thani Province, Srivijaya style, 9th C CE.

(National Museum Bangkok)

Late 6th century China.

This sculpture is one of the earliest known examples of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara holding a willow branch. The willow, which later becomes standard in the imagery of Avalokiteshvara, is associated with healing.

(metmuseum.org)

11th century China.

After the tenth century, one of the more prominent representations of Avalokiteshvara shows the bodhisattva seated with the right knee raised and the left leg crossed before the body. The posture represents the Water Moon manifestation, understood as a depiction of the divinity in his Pure Land, or personal paradise. Known as Mount Potalaka, Avalokiteshvara’s Pure Land was originally thought to be located on an island somewhere south of India. By the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), this mythical paradise had been identified with Mount Putuo, an island off the east coast province of Zhejiang, and had become an important pilgrimage site.

(metmuseum.org)

Dated 1282 CE China.

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 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.

(metmuseum.org)

Artist/maker:
unknown, Thai
Geography:
Possibly made in Prachinburi Province, Thailand, Asia
Possibly made in Buriram Province, Thailand, Asia
Period:
Pre-Angkor Period
Date:
Early 8th century
Medium:
Sandstone
Dimensions:
Height: 5 feet 9 3/4 inches (177.2 cm)

(philamuseum.org)

8th–early 9th century Southern Thailand or Sumatra.

This four-armed Avalokiteshvara exemplifies the finest qualities associated with the pan-Asian cult of the savior bodhisattva. Through its grace and humanism, the work embodies the qualities of compassion central to Buddhist ethics. It may have been made in Sumatra or in the Malay Peninsula, regions linked by commercial activity in which religious imagery could readily circulate. Chinese pilgrim sources tell of major monasteries that prospered in both areas.

(metmuseum.org)

10th century Thailand.

Such multi-armed, eleven-headed images of Avalokiteshvara were important to both Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhist practitioners. This kind of representation emphasizes Avalokiteshvara's knowledge as well as his ability to take multiple simultaneous actions on behalf of the devotee.

(metmuseum.org)

8th-9th century probably Thailand or Cambodia.

This rare gold repousse representation of Avalokiteshvara was fabricated from many pieces of fitted, worked gold. Both the high hairstyle (jatamukuta) and the deerskin over the figure's left shoulder are consistent with representations of Avalokiteshvara, a bodhisattva who offered compassion and protection to devotees. The thin, elongated body and the understated clothing are consistent with Si Thep production.

(metmuseum.org)

Deity who helps beings reach enlightenment so they can escape the cycle of time.

Artist/maker:
unknown, Indian
Geography:
Made in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia
Date:
c. Third quarter of 5th century
Medium:
Sandstone
Dimensions:
48 1/2 × 15 1/2 × 7 inches (123.2 × 39.4 × 17.8 cm) Weight: 290.5 lb. (131.77 kg)

(philamuseum.org)

Artist/maker:
unknown, Chinese
Geography:
Made in China, Asia
Date:
1368-1644
Medium:
Willow with traces of paint and gilt decoration
Dimensions:
48 7/16 × 19 11/16 inches (123 × 50 cm)

(philamuseum.org)

10th century, Nepal (Kathmandu Valley).

The embodiment of Buddhist compassion grants boons to devotees with his extended hand. He wears a spectacular tripartite diadem, jewelry, and a low-slung sash with fluted folds that extend to the ground. Stylistically, this image represents a continuation of conventions developed in the late Lichhavi era (8th–9th century).

(metmuseum.org)

White-Robed Guanyin
18th century
China

The ivory white porcelain of the Dehua kilns of Fujian was well-suited to representing Guanyin, especially in her white‑robed form, and the kiln produced countless sculptures of the bodhisattva to meet the public’s insatiable demand. This is a particularly grand example, befitting a wealthy residence.

(metmuseum.org)

16th century
Unknown artist, China
Gilt bronze

Guanyin, one of the most popular of all Buddhist deities, is shown here holding an infant boy in her lap; she is Songzi, the Child-Giving Guanyin. Male children were extremely important to Confucian family structure. They ensured not only the continuity of family and clan, but that there would be uninterrupted generations to carry on the rituals of ancestral worship. The Child-Giving Guanyin was prayed to by worshipers for healthy children and intelligent male heirs.

(Minneapolis Institute of Art)

16th century
China

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 209

The child in the arms of the bodhisattva indicates that this ivory carving represents Guanyin as the Bestower of Sons. Although in India the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara was originally understood to be either genderless or male, in China, female manifestations developed and become popular, particularly for their ability to provide blessings such as children. This particular form was created during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).

(metmuseum.org)

This statue of Avalokiteśvara is the Buddist Lord of Compassion and embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. A Bodhisattva is an enlightened being who has chosen to remain in the early realm to selflessly help others attain spiritual liberation. In this statue, the right hand is in the pose of the gesture of charity. His left hand may have held a lotus which is a symbol of purity. In Tibet, the Dalai Lama is believed to be his incarnation.

Bodhisattvas are a favourite subject in Buddhist art and are variably depicted, described and portrayed in different cultures as either female or male. In Chinese Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara has become the somewhat different female figure Guanyin. Avalokiteshvara is the earthly manifestation of the eternal Buddha, and he guards the world in the interval between the departure of the historical Buddha and the appearance of the future Buddha.

(British Museum)

late 16th century
Unidentified Artist

A rare example of ecclesiastical painting from the end of the Ming period, this richly colored painting presents Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit), the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion, in a peculiarly Chinese manifestation as the provider of male offspring. Guanyin is seated on a lion (a symbol of royalty in India), descending toward the worshiper on a plume of clouds while holding a baby in his arms. The child is girded by a jewel-encrusted belt and holds an imposing seal, both emblems of high official rank. Below him is the adoring figure of Sudhana, the young boy whose auspicious birth enabled him to set forth immediately on a quest for spiritual enlightenment.

(metmuseum.org)

Late 14th century
Chinese
Artist unidentified

According to Buddhist belief, Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara, in Sanskrit), Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion, reveals himself in many forms. In one such manifestation, known simply as the White-Robed Guanyin, the Bodhisattva sits on the rocky island of Putuo (Potalaka, in Sanskrit), believed by the Chinese to be located offshore from Ningbo, in Zhejiang Province.

The poem was inscribed (from left to right) by Quanshi Zongle:

The body is as small as specks of dust and as ephemeral,
So is the doctrine ephemeral and small as specks of dust;
The world of all living things is but emptiness,
And so Guanyin’s compassionate heart is at rest.

Quanshi Zongle, appointed by the first Ming emperor to the highest administrative position governing Chan institutions, served as abbot of the Tianjie temple, near Nanjing, first about 1375 and later from 1388 until his death in 1391. The painting, inscribed at the Tianjie temple, is datable to the end of the fourteenth century.

(metmuseum.org)