Bodhisattva Guanyin with a willow wand and amphora

Object Details

• Description

  Standing Bodhisattva, Guanyin: the gilt-bronze figure stands frontally holding a willow branch in the raised left hand and a flask in the lowered right.

  Facial features are simply modelled with details such as the eyebrows and eyelids emphasized by fine lines. The downward cast of the head enhances the diety's contemplative expression. The headdress is symmetrical with projecting tassels at the front and sides; and longer tassels fall from the back and over the shoulders. A small portion of projecting ornament remains at the back of the head. A necklace and pendant jewelry, accented by a rounded ball at the chest, circular plaques and the foliate disk with projecting tassels at the lower hemline, reflect the Bodhisattva's divine, princely status. The stole ends, both of which are broken, flare at the lower border, providing a stabilizing silhouette, and the undulating hemline is raised to reveal the deity's bared feet. In contrast to the plastic modelling that characterizes the forms on the front of the figure, flat forms and fine lines describe the drapery patterns at the back. The small lotus pedestal may not be original. The surface of the figure bears traces of original gilding and areas of greenish accretions.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Promise of Paradise (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Promise of Paradise: Early Chinese Buddhist Sculpture (December 1, 2012 to January 3, 2016)

  Studies in Connoisseurship 1923-1983 (September 23, 1983 to March 1, 1984)

• Origin

  probably Shaanxi province, China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Freer Gallery 17: Promise of Paradise

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  600s, 500s

• Place

  Shaanxi province, China

• Topic

  Gilding, Bronze, Sui dynasty (581 - 618), Art, Sculpture, Chinese Art, Willow tree, Avalokite?svara (Buddhist deity), Lotus, Bodhisattva, Metal-work, Guanyin

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Yes