Gilt Covered Nanhai Guanyin with Wisdom Buddhas in her Crown (16247WALK) SPECIAL PRICE

Description

This fine gilt and lacquer Nanhai Guanyin of the South Seas creates an aura of serenity, peace and radiance. She sits in meditation (dhyana mudra) hands in her lap, legs in lotus position (padmasana) under her flowing 3-part robe. Her high bun is behind a 5-lobed crown with the 5 Dhyani Buddhas of Wisdom, three which are still distinct. The Dhyani Buddhas are traditional Vajrayana (Tantric, esoteric, Tibetan) Buddhist images. This Buddhist form, an outgrowth of Indian Mahayana Buddhism, arrived in China with Tibetan masters invited by Emperors in the 8^th century on to teach this tradition. A blend of Mahayana practices with ancient Hindu and Vedic mystical concepts and teachings, it included incantations, mantras, chants and esoteric rituals identified with tantric deities. This Vajrayana influence is rarely depicted in Nanhai Guanyin statues making this a significant carving. She is portrayed here on a rocky outcrop in front of her cave on Putuo Island, a major popular pilgrimage site where she is believed to appear to devotees. Starting in the Ming Dynasty, Nanhai Guanyin became a cult figure among devotees of all social classes. Local artisans produced carvings for home altars and temples throughout China reflecting tastes of a rising middle class. Carvings were often covered in gilt as both a display of personal devotion and the wealth of the donor. The back cavity indicates it was placed on a home altar after being consecrated by a monk in an eye-opening ceremony. It is in excellent condition for its age with minor loss of gilt.