Antique Guanyin a Holding Scroll, China (16420LKE) $1550

Description

This outstanding delicately antique carving is Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, seated on a rocky throne, a reference to her cave home the island of Putuo in the Southern China Sea. Other than the Buddha, she is the most revered deity in Mahayana Buddhism and one of the three Great Chinese Goddesses who epitomize the feminine role of compassionate protector. She has 33 manifestations and can appear in any form appropriate for the devotee seeking her aid and as a syncretic deity, is embraced in Taoist and Popular Religion as well as Buddhism. Although she is portrayed standing or seated, most devotees prefer her seated which imparts both a serene and dignified feeling, which is the very picture of enlightenment. Her face is always gentle, calm and sweet, reflecting infinite wisdom, serenity, love and compassion and has the capacity to calm those who are angry or in despair, comfort those in sorrow and brings forth feelings of love, devotion and contentment. Her almond eyes are half-closed  which indicates her perfect harmony of outer and inner life:  half her vision focuses on the outer world, while the other half focuses internally for self-reflection. She sits lalitsana, (royal ease) symbolizing that as a regal personage, she presides over the material world and its possessions as well as the spiritual world. She holds a scroll which may represent the dharma which she constantly reads or the Lotus Sutra that reveals her as protector of the world in the time between the departure of Buddha Shakyamuni and the appearance of the future Buddha, Maitreya.  Her flowing robe has much original paint and the piece is in very good condition with normal signs of wear for its age and use including minor paint loses. Images of enlightened beings are placed in temples, monasteries or on a home altar as a reminder of the spiritual potential inherent within all of us. This statue is part of the VA  Collection of Buddhist-Art.