Page 220 - Decorative Arts, Part II: Far Eastern Ceramics and Paintings, Persian and Indian Rugs and Carpets

1942.9-595 (C-446)
Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of
Compassion

Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722)
Porcelain with famille verte enamels on the biscuit, 25.4 (10)
Widener Collection
TECHNICAL NOTES
The bottle in the figure's right hand has a broken top, and the
index finger on the left hand is missing. There is a square vent-
hole at the back.
PROVENANCE
Sir William Bennett [1852-1931]. (Gorer, London); sold 1910
to Peter A. B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park,
Pennsylvania; inheritance from Estate of Peter A. B. Widener by
gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener,
Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.

UANYIN is THE MOST IMPORTANT bodhisattva in Asian
GBuddhism. Bodhisattvas are beings who have
attained enlightenment but have vowed to defer their
entry into Nirvana in order to enable others to attain
enlightenment. Here the deity is shown as a standing
female, wearing a cowl and holding a bottle of holy
water. Her feet are bare, and she wears a double-layered
yellow robe and elaborate jewelry. The enamel colors
include dark and light green, red, yellow, blue, aubergine,
black, and transparent. There are vestiges of metallic
gold in the jewelry and around the hairline. The eye-
brows and pupils of the eyes have been painted with
black enamel.
The figurine may have been the central image in a
small shrine. The cowled form of Guanyin appeared in
surviving paintings 1 as early as the Southern Song
dynasty (1127-1279).
SL

NOTES
i. Eight Dynasties 1980, nos. 67, 85-86.

REFERENCES
1910 Gorer: 19-20, no. 62.
1955-1958 Koyama et al.: 217, fig. 90.

204 D E C O R A T I V E A R T S