Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin) with vase and willow twig

Object Details

• Artist

  Formerly attributed to Yan Liben (ca. 600-674)

• Label

  As an object of veneration, Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, is shown with emblems of divine power: visible hands engaged in curative action and bare upturned feet folded in the lotus position.

  Although sometimes described as a woman, Guanyin originally had no gender, combining both male and female elements. The deity holds a purple water vase shaped like a lotus bud, and from its drops holy water from a willow branch. Wavelike patterns emanates from the center of the body and flow around its edges. Floriated emblems featuring lotuses decorate the robe, the colors of which are somber and deep. The lotus symbolizes Shakyamuni Buddha, who is also depicted in miniature in Guanyin's hood.

• Provenance

  To 1917

  Li Wenqing (late 19th-early 20th century), Shanghai, to 1917 [1]

  From 1917 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Li Wenqing, in New York, in 1917 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 1175, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also, Voucher No. 18, December 1916.

  [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

  Enlightened Beings: Buddhism in Chinese Paintings (September 1, 2012 to February 24, 2013)

  In Human Form: Images of the Secular and Divine in Chinese Painting (January 31, 1996 to January 7, 1997)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Li Wenqing 李文卿 (ca. 1869-1931) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1640s, 1300s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Li, Wenqing

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Chinese Art, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Guanyin

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings