Bodhisattva White Avalokiteshvara (Amoghapasha Lokeshvara)

Object Details

• Label

  Standing poised in the elegant tribhanga (triple-bent) pose, White Avalokiteshvara (literally, The Lord Who Looks down from on High) is a popular guardian deity of the Kathmandu Valley of the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal, and pious Buddhists perform a special puja (ritual worship) to him each month. The beauty of the oval face, the sinuous lines of the torso, and the deft addition of paint make a significant statement about the achievement of Himalayan art. The image, which would have been honored within the shrine of a Buddhist monastery, is in exceptional condition considering that as a consecrated figure (X-rays reveal the insertion of a variety of metal objects and prayers that empower it), it frequently received ritual baths.

  Carved from a single large piece of wood, the image testifies to Nepalese skill in woodcarving. The wood is from the shal tree (shorea robusta), a tropical hardwood highly resistant to decay and insect damage, and therefore favored by sculptors. Artists covered the figure with a smooth layer of gesso (a fine, white plaster) and painted it in a variety of colors and patterns. Missing today is the inlay of precious stones, a Himalayan specialty, as well as two of the eight additional arms.

• Provenance

  To 1972

  Rossi & Rossi, Ltd., London, to 1972 [1]

  From 1972 to 1990

  Unidentified collector-dealer (died 1990), Italy and London, purchased from Rossi & Rossi, Ltd. in 1972 [2]

  Around 1990 to 1999

  Unidentified collector-dealer, purchased though Rossi & Rossi, Ltd., around 1990 [3]

  From 1999 to 2000

  Rossi & Rossi, Ltd., purchased from the above-mentioned unidentified collector in 1999 [4]

  From 2000

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Rossi & Rossi, Ltd. in 2000

  Notes:

  [1] According to Curatorial Note 2, Vidya Dehejia, March 28, 2000, in the object record.

  [2] In the early 1980s, the unknown collector moved to London, and consigned the object for sale with Michael Godhuis. However, the object remained unsold until after the owner's death in 1990; at which point, Rossi & Rossi, Ltd. was asked to sell the object (see Curatorial Note 2, Vidya Dehejia, March 28, 2000, in the object record). Also, see copy of the Godhuis catalog and other documentation in the object file.

  [3] See note 1.

  [4] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Body Image (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Arts of the Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas (October 16, 2004 to January 3, 2016)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Rossi & Rossi, Ltd.

• Origin

  Nepal

• Credit Line

  Purchase — funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art and Sigrid and Vinton Cerf in honor of Dr. Mary Shepherd Slusser

• Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Freer Gallery 02: Body Image: Arts of the Indian Subcontinent

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1300s

• Name

  Rossi, Fabio

• Place

  Nepal

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Avalokite?svara (Buddhist deity), Bodhisattva, Guanyin, Malla dynasty (1201-1769)

• Culture

  Buddhists, Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Yes