SOLD ! White Hooded Nanhai Guanyin at Putuo Island, China, 18-19th Century (19207BSK) SPECIAL PRICE

Description

This Nanhai Guanyin (Guanyin of the South Sea) sits in her cave on Putuo  island in the South China Sea with most of her traditional features.  She is portrayed as  White Hooded or Clad Guanyin with her hair in a bun covered with a short hood seated in royal ease (lalitsana)  with her right hand on her right leg bent at the knee. Her left hand holds a scroll symbolizing the Lotus Sutra in which she is discussed and rests on an armature which holds a green vase containing pure water,  the divine nectar of life she uses to relieve suffering.  Three lotuses with large red buds support her. The lotus is a Buddhist symbol of purity, spiritual awakening, and faithfulness. The pierced cave walls of which some is missing  form a protective covering.  The walls, the buds, her right shoe, the projecting armature, her back and other areas are all painted red, and there are paint losses that show the white base ground above which colors including gilt have been lost. Some areas were also covered with a lacquer coating, but others were left without lacquer.  Most of the painted red and green and covering lacquer are gone revealing the white base coat that covered her robes and base. We have found very few Nanhai images with her cave and identifying features, so this rare carving is something to be treasured, Made by a talented provincial artisan it has a folk like charm, yet from all years of veneration on a home shrine it has a serene and meditative quality.   It is mounted on a modern, uniquely-crafted, frosted acrylic base.