Guanyin

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Guanyin

Place of OriginChina

DateMing Dynasty, 1368-1644 CE

DimensionsH: 23 in. (58.4 cm); L: 22 in. (55.9 cm)

MediumPolychromed wood

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

2004.13

Not on View

DescriptionA wooden polychrome sculpture of Guan Yin, seated bodhisattva of mercy, in a position of royal dalliance

Label TextThe calm, sensitive face and informal posture of "royal ease" of this figure express both compassion and strength. Guanyin is a bodhisattva (boh-dee-SOT-vah): a Buddhist deity who helps mortals to attain release from the cycle of earthly life. Though usually represented as female by the time of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), this sculpture looks back to an earlier tradition showing Guanyin as a graceful, androgynous prince. One of the most popular Chinese deities, Guanyin comforts the souls of the dead and acts as mediator for the wishes of the living. Carved from interlocking blocks of wood and once brightly painted, this sculpture originally sat on an artificial rocky ledge as part of a visually rich temple setting in north China.Published References"Buddhist Sculpture of Shanxi Province" from the Research Institute of The Buddhist Association of China at Po Lin Monastery.Comparative ReferencesSee also "Buddhist Sculpture of Shanxi Province" from the Research Institute of The Buddhist Association of China at Po Lin Monastery. See also "The Arts of the Ming Dynasty," exhibition catalogue organized by The Arts Council of Great Britain and The Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1957. See also Sullivan, Michael. The Arts of China, 4th edition, Berkeley, 1999, pp. 233. See also "The Arts of the Ming Dynasty," exhibition catalogue organized by the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan, 1952.