Showing  1 - 2 of 2 Records

Showing  1 - 2 of 2 Records
Standing Bodhisattva
  • Title Translation: 菩萨立像
  • Period: Jin, 1115-1234 C.E.
  • Project: Wooden Bodhisattvas (Guanyin)
  • Work Description: This figure is among the best in quality and preservation to have survived from the Jin Dynasty. The image is full-bodied yet imbued with a sense of stately movement effected by the flowing garments and twisting scarves that eddy around the figure. The deep carving and high relief drapery produce a dramatic effect of shadow and highlight, which, combined with the rich polychrome palette, result in a figure that is magnificent yet gentle, humanized and immediately appealing. A tightly folded manuscript found in a sealed cavity in the back records that this image was repaired and repainted in 1348. The names of the artisans and donors are listed, and the name of the temple given as Meditation (Hall) of the Great Cloud Monastery.

Guanyin of the Southern Sea
  • Title Translation: 南海观音
  • Period: Liao, Jin, 907-1125 C.E., 1115-1234 C.E.
  • Project: Wooden Bodhisattvas (Guanyin)
  • Work Description: Represented as "Kuan-Yin of the southern seas," the Chinese Buddhist deity of compassion and mercy is seated in a variation of the pose of royal ease (Maharajalila) on a base imitating a craggy rock with his/her right arm resting on his/her folded right knee. The left arm rests on the rock while the left leg hangs down over the rockery onto a lotus blossom. The position of the Guanyin conveys the impression that the Bodhisattva might at any moment awake from deep contemplation and step down. The Bodhisattva's worldly ornaments, such as the high tiara and rich necklaces, are carved, gilded and painted in sumptuous detail.