Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin)

Object Details

• Description

  Standing Bodhisattva Lotus Holder Guanyin

  Surface: gilded; a reddish patina on worn areas. Green patina and grayish earth incrustation underneath.

  Decoration: in relief and engraved. Inscription.

• Inscriptions

  On the 19th of the 2nd month in the 3rd year of Hsing-ho, the Eastern Wei Dynasty [542 A.D.] Buddhist Liu Fu Ch'u, native of Po-ling, Yao-yang district of Shantung province, had this image of Kuan-yin, the Goddess of Mercy, made in memory of his deceased parents and his living brothers and his wife and children.

• Provenance

  To 1911

  Ta Ge Shang, Beijing, to 1911 [1]

  From 1911 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Ta Ge Shang in 1911 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Bronze List, S.I. 284, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)

  Stone Sculpture, Buddhist Bronze, and Chinese Painting (May 2, 1923 to February 25, 1956)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Ta Ge Shang (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Yaoyang, Hebei province, China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Sculpture

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  500s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Ge Shang, Ta

• Place

  China, Hebei province, Yaoyang

• Topic

  Gilding, Bronze, Period of Division (220 - 589), Art, Mandorla, Chinese Art, Eastern Wei dynasty (534 - 550), Avalokite?svara (Buddhist deity), Lotus, Bodhisattva, Lettering, Metal-work, Guanyin, Charles Lang Freer collection, Sculpture

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Sculpture