COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
mediaCollectionId
AMICO~1~1
The AMICA Library
Collection
true
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1981.53
amicoid
CMA_.1981.53
AMICA ID
false
AMICA Library Year:
1998
aly
1998
AMICA Library Year
false
Object Type:
Sculpture
oty
Sculpture
Object Type
false
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Far East Asian; Chinese
crc
Asian; Far East Asian; Chinese
Creator Nationality
false
Creator Dates/Places:
China
cdt
China
Creator Dates/Places
false
Creator Name-CRT:
China, Late Northern Song Dynasty
crt
China, Late Northern Song Dynasty
Creator Name-CRT
false
Title:
Eleven-Headed Guanyin
otn
Eleven-Headed Guanyin
Title
false
Title Type:
Primary
ott
Primary
Title Type
false
View:
Full View
rid
Full View
View
false
Creation Date:
c. 1101-1127
oct
c. 1101-1127
Creation Date
false
Creation Start Date:
1101
ocs
1101
Creation Start Date
false
Creation End Date:
1127
oce
1127
Creation End Date
false
Materials and Techniques:
wood with traces of pigment and cut gold
omd
wood with traces of pigment and cut gold
Materials and Techniques
false
Dimensions:
Overall: 218.5cm
met
Overall: 218.5cm
Dimensions
false
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
oon
The Cleveland Museum of Art
AMICA Contributor
false
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
oop
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Owner Location
false
ID Number:
1981.53
ooa
1981.53
ID Number
false
Credit Line:
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
ooc
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Credit Line
false
Rights:
orl
<a href="http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html"target="_new">http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html</a>
Rights
false
Context:
The Indian Buddhist deity Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin in Chinese) assumed great importance in Far Eastern Buddhism. As a spiritual attendant to the Historical Buddha Shakyamuni (see page 37), Avalokiteshvara served as one of a number of bodhisattvas, enlightened souls who benefit humankind. In China, Guanyin was thought to be the most benevolent of the bodhisattvas. Hearing the prayers of those in need, Guanyin was described as the divine being that most nearly approached the Buddha in holiness. Envisionedwith a mystical third eye to aid in his search for the troubled, Guanyin came to be selected as the primary subject for the paintings and sculptures of Buddhist altars, especially since the Song. The museum's monumental standing image of Guanyin was carved from a single massive block of willow wood nearly eight feet tall. In the esoteric form seen here, the deity's primary head was enhanced by eleven smaller ones, symbolic of Guanyin's search for needy believers. As in some earlier Chinese sculptural styles, the superhuman yet approachable deity is shown in Indian fashion with bare torso and long skirt anchored at the waist. The pose is foreign, too, and the flexed body--characterized by inclined torso, projecting right hip, and forward left leg--revealsthe gentle sway of the Indian tribhanga (three-bent) posture. In the deeply cut high-relief forms of scarves, sashes, jewelry, and garment, however, the sculptor reveals the Chinese penchant to blend sculptural form with linear pattern. In cases like this,the weight of the heavy cascading cloth is mitigated by the ethereal, almost weightless impression created by the lively hem. Only traces remain of the surface pigments that once ornamented the sculpture. The flesh was originally gilded, and aspects ofthecostume were enriched with blue, green, black, and red. Most surprising are traces of cut gold (jiejin) on the apron near the waist. In this painstaking method of embellishment, thin strips of cut gold leaf were applied to fine patterns that had beendrawn with glue on the surface of the sculpture. After it was attached, the gold would be burnished with a soft cloth. Used to suggest the patterns of embroidered or woven cloth, jiejin was especially popular in Far Eastern sculpture and painting. Despite theprevalence of the technique in early literary sources, however, few early examples of jiejin have survived, no doubt because of the fragility of the medium. K.W.
cxd
The Indian Buddhist deity Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin in Chinese) assumed great importance in Far Eastern Buddhism. As a spiritual attendant to the Historical Buddha Shakyamuni (see page 37), Avalokiteshvara served as one of a number of bodhisattvas, enlightened souls who benefit humankind. In China, Guanyin was thought to be the most benevolent of the bodhisattvas. Hearing the prayers of those in need, Guanyin was described as the divine being that most nearly approached the Buddha in holiness. Envisionedwith a mystical third eye to aid in his search for the troubled, Guanyin came to be selected as the primary subject for the paintings and sculptures of Buddhist altars, especially since the Song. The museum's monumental standing image of Guanyin was carved from a single massive block of willow wood nearly eight feet tall. In the esoteric form seen here, the deity's primary head was enhanced by eleven smaller ones, symbolic of Guanyin's search for needy believers. As in some earlier Chinese sculptural styles, the superhuman yet approachable deity is shown in Indian fashion with bare torso and long skirt anchored at the waist. The pose is foreign, too, and the flexed body--characterized by inclined torso, projecting right hip, and forward left leg--revealsthe gentle sway of the Indian tribhanga (three-bent) posture. In the deeply cut high-relief forms of scarves, sashes, jewelry, and garment, however, the sculptor reveals the Chinese penchant to blend sculptural form with linear pattern. In cases like this,the weight of the heavy cascading cloth is mitigated by the ethereal, almost weightless impression created by the lively hem. Only traces remain of the surface pigments that once ornamented the sculpture. The flesh was originally gilded, and aspects ofthecostume were enriched with blue, green, black, and red. Most surprising are traces of cut gold (jiejin) on the apron near the waist. In this painstaking method of embellishment, thin strips of cut gold leaf were applied to fine patterns that had beendrawn with glue on the surface of the sculpture. After it was attached, the gold would be burnished with a soft cloth. Used to suggest the patterns of embroidered or woven cloth, jiejin was especially popular in Far Eastern sculpture and painting. Despite theprevalence of the technique in early literary sources, however, few early examples of jiejin have survived, no doubt because of the fragility of the medium. K.W.
Context
false
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1981.53.tif
ril
CMA_.1981.53.tif
Related Image Identifier Link
false