Sung dynasty / The Bodhisattva Kuan-yin / late 11th century

Sung dynasty
The Bodhisattva Kuan-yin
late 11th century - 12th century
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Creator Name: Unknown
Creator Nationality: Asian; Far East Asian; Chinese
Creator Role: Sculptor
Creator Name-CRT: Sung dynasty
Title: The Bodhisattva Kuan-yin
View: Side
Creation Start Date: 1066
Creation End Date: 1199
Creation Date: late 11th century - 12th century
Object Type: Sculpture
Classification Term: Sculpture
Materials and Techniques: wood, gesso and mineral pigments
Dimensions: a (body): H.38-3/4 x W.22 x D.13-1/2 in.; b (legs): H.8 x W.30-1/4 x D.13 in.; c (arm): H.25 x W.17 x D.12-3/4 in.; d (arm): H.22-1/2 x W.19-1/2 x D.7-7/8 in.; e (PL hip): H.14 x W.14 x D.14-1/2 in.; f (ushnisha): H.8-3/4 x W.7-1/2 x D.5 in.; g (hand): H.10-3/4 x W.5-1/2 x D.4 in.; h (hand): H.11-3/4 x W.5-1/2 x D.4 in.
AMICA Contributor: The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Owner Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
ID Number: 98.62a-h
Credit Line: Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton
Rights: http://www.artsmia.org/restrictions.html
Context:

Bodhisattvas are Buddhist deities who have forgone entrance into Nirvana until that time when all beings have attained enlightenment. In China, Kuan-yin became the most popular bodhisattva and was widely worshipped as the deity of mercy and compassion.

This magnificent example from north China is constructed of removable wooden sections which still retain traces of original pigment. Several sections of the robes exhibit fine textile patterns executed in gold.

Seated cross-legged in the pose of meditation, the right hand is raised in the vara mudra, the gesture of charity, while the left hand is in the mudra of discourse or argumentation. Carved during the last creative epochs of Chinese Buddhist sculpture, this sumptuously attired image expresses the new humanism of the day while capturing the gentler, benign calm of near enlightenment.

AMICA ID: MIA_.98.62a-h
Component Measured: overall
Measurement Unit: in
AMICA Library Year: 2002
Media Metadata Rights: ? The Minneapolis Institute of Arts

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