Antique Nanhai Guanyin of the Southern Seas, China #19414BLK

Description

This charming antique wood carving of Guanyin was used as part of a home shrine, possibly along with images of the Buddha and other Buddhist personages, Taoist images, local gods and deities, and ancestor figures. She is represented as Nanhai Guanyin, or Guanyin of the Southern Seas, one of the more popular depictions of Guanyin,  during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, where she sits in the Cave of the Tidal Sound on Mount Putuo (Putuoshan), an island in the East China Sea. Guanyin is one of the Great Chinese Goddesses who are imperially sanctioned and epitomize the feminine role of compassionate protectors of health, long life and safety.Nanhai Guanyin is often seated, as in this carving, in a white hood over her head below an arch of openwork draped moss and barbed rocks, with a vial and parrot at her side, her arm resting on an outcrop holding scrolls that represent the dharma (teachings of the Buddha), the Lotus Sutra or other sutras with which she is associated. She is seated in modified lalitsana, or the position of royal ease, with her right leg up and her left bent at the knee atop an open lotus (symbolizing purity and enlightenment) surrounded by two closed lotuses symbolizing the potential for enlightenment. Carvings like this Nanhai Guanyins with all her attributes are very rare, and this one is in extremely good condition. As described in the Pure Land Sutra, the Pure Land is home to parrots and other birds who help those who have achieved rebirth in the Western Paradise. Provincial craftsmen portrayed her in less costly wood that represents the simplicity of the flow of life that nurtures all beings. She is a modest figure that resonated with common people rather than adhering to sanctioned imperial prescriptions.  Although the piece probably was covered with lacquer, some is now faded, parts of the parrot are  worn, and there are surface losses consistent with age and use.  Otherwise, it is in very good condition mounted on a frosted Acrylic base.

Click here for the Blog The Emergence of Nanhai Guanyin.

Source:
Lee Irwin, “Divinity and Salvation: The Great Goddesses of China,” in Asian Folklore Studies, Indiana University, Vol. 49, 1990, pp 53-68.