- Provenance
- Provenance research underway.
- Description
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Gilt arsenical copper standing figure of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Guanyin), slightly worn in places. Figure of Amitabha in headdress; right hand in vitarka mudra, left hand in varada mudra. Wooden stand.
- Label
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This figure of Guanyin, the Chinese name for the Bodhisattva of Compassion (Avalokiteshvara), a Buddhist deity of great importance, was made in the Dali kingdom, an independent realm that ruled from 937 to 1253 in an area of southwestern China with links to both Southeast Asia and Tibet. The figure's imagery recalls early Indian prototypes as reinterpreted in Southeast Asia, then brought to the Dali kingdom, where the style was again transformed. Originally a gilded metal nimbus, or body halo, stood behind the figure.
- Published References
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- Hugo Munsterberg. Chinese Buddhist Bronzes., 1st ed. Tokyo and Rutland, Vermont. pl. 59.
- Arts D'Asie. Paris, 2007. p.26.
- Robert Hatfield Ellsworth’s DISCOVERY. Lexington, Massachusetts. p. 39, fig. 20.
- Albert Lutz, Angela Falco Howard. Der Goldschatz der drei Pagoden: Buddhistische Kunst des Nanzhao- und Dali-Konigreichs in Yunnan, China. Exh. cat. Zurich. pp. 68-74.
- Paths to Perfection, Buddhist Art at the Freer/Sackler. Washington. pp. 92-93.
- Archibald Gibson Wenley. A Radiocarbon Dating of a Yunnanese Image of Avalokitesvara. vol. 2 Washington and Ann Arbor, 1957. p. 508, pl. 1.
- Collection Area(s)
- Chinese Art
- Web Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- SI Usage Statement
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Usage Conditions Apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Usage Conditions Apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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International Image Interoperability Framework
FS-5901_08