Antique Guanyin with Lobed Crown, China (16151LME) SPECIAL PRICE

Description

Lee Irvin calls Guanyin one of the Great Chinese Goddesses who are imperially sanctioned and epitomize the feminine role of compassionate protectors who grant health, long life and safety to all regardless of their social position. Each has large temples, monasteries and small local shrines dedicated to them. She in the lotus position (padmasana)  with bare feet upward and exposed. Her hands are in front of the heart in anjali (divine offering), the mudra of prayer, reverence, respect, and  a universal Buddhist greeting. With a full face and downcast eyes, she is in modest provincial style with symbols of bodhisattva status: a 5-lobed diadem, hair in a chignon, braids draping down her shoulders, and a flowing robe. Her pendulous ears are a sign of wisdom, her ability to hear the cries of sentient beings, and her spiritual awakening. The gilt is a sign of her enlightened status. She sits on a two part lotus throne (padmapitha) with each covered with  lotus pedals,  the Buddhist symbol of purity, spontaneous generation, divine birth, flowering of the mind, and freedom from the darkness of this world. It is usually used only with enlightened beings. Like a human reaching for enlightenment, the lotus grows out of mud into a flower of striking beauty. The Lalitavistara Sutra states “…the spirit of man can be spotless, like the new lotus in the muddy water which does not adhere to it.” The carved back cavity is sealed with the cover (bung) indicating it was consecrated. In good condition commensurate with its age with most of its gilt, pigment, and lacquer extant, it has expected minor chips, hairline cracks, and paint and lacquer losses.

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