The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

Object Details

• Artist

  Attributed to Mati

• Description

  The sculpture depicts a standing figure [standing in thrice-bent "tribhanga" posture, atop a small, flat, oval base. The right forearm of the figure is raised with the palm of the hand facing forward. The left arm is down at the figure's side and holds a stem that rises up to a large flower that sits above the left shoulder. An ornate headdress with flowing scarves, and a band of flowers that run down one side of the body and up the other side, adorn the figure.

  Only the front of the sculpture is decorated; the back is plain. Chasing, inlay, and gilding were used to decorate the figure, but just traces of the gilding remain. The eyes are inlaid with gray metal and a black material. The back of the head is covered with blue paint. The skirt of the figure is decorated with chasing and the recessed design on the skirt is filled with black and red colored materials. Most of the surface is bare metal and is a light golden brown color.

• Previous custodian or owner

  Nitta Muneichi

  Rossi & Rossi, Ltd.

• Provenance

  From 1960s

  Nitta Muneichi, Taiwan and Japan, from the 1960s [1]

  To 2001

  Rossi & Rossi, Ltd., London, to 2001

  From 2001

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Rossi & Rossi, Ltd. in 2001

  Notes:

  [1] While the publication of the Nitta catalog was not until 1987, Stan Czuma (in an unpublished paper) dates this object's entry into the collection to the 1960s (according to Curatorial Note 3, Debra Diamond, January 10, 2001, in the object record). See The Crucible of Compassion and Wisdom: Special Exhibition Catalog of the Buddhist Bronzes from the Nitta Group Collection at the National Palace Museum (Taipei: 1987).

• Origin

  Western Tibet

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• 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

  1100s, 1000s

• Name

  Rossi, Fabio, Muneichi, Nitta, Mati

• Place

  Tibet

• Topic

  Prayer beads, South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Avalokite?svara (Buddhist deity), Lotus, Bodhisattva

• Culture

  Buddhists, Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Yes