Page 80 - Christies Alsdorf Collection Part 1 Sept 24 2020 NYC

崇聖御寶 - 詹姆斯及瑪麗蓮 ·阿爾斯多夫珍藏

Sensitively modeled and expressing compassion, the A translation of the Sanskrit name Avalokiteshvara,
oval face has fleshy cheeks, a small mouth, chin, and Guanshiyin—typically abbreviated as Guanyin—means
nose, and heavily lidded, slightly downcast eyes set “[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World”,
under arching eyebrows. Fleshy folds appear under a reference to Guanyin’s ability to hear both the cries of
the eyes, and the small fold under the chin might be the afflicted and the prayers of supplicants. Guanyin, an
characterized as an incipient double chin. Of cabochon earthly manifestation of the Buddha Amitabha, guards
form, the integrally cast urna appears at the center of the world in the interval between the departure of the
the forehead. (Often incorrectly termed a “third eye” Historical Buddha Shakyamuni and the appearance
or even a caste mark, the urna is the curl of white of Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future. Though
hair between a Buddhist deity’s eyebrows from which Guanyin figures in more than eighty different sutras,
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issues a ray of light illuminating all worlds. ) The two the Lotus Sutra—known in Sanskrit as the Saddharma
large, distinctively shaped curls of hair on either side of Pundarika Sutra and in Chinese as the Miaofa Lianhua
the part and immediately above the forehead spiral in Jing—is generally accepted as the earliest sacred text
opposite directions, their bulbous ends visually echoing that presents the doctrines of Avalokiteshvara, that
the urna below. Emerging from under the cowl atop the presentation occurring in Chapter 25. Titled Guanshiyin
head, loose braids of hair partially conceal the elongated Pusa Pumenpin and devoted to Guanyin, that chapter
ears, cascade over the shoulders, and then fall to the describes Guanyin as a bodhisattva of infinite compassion
elbows in discrete tresses. who hears the cries of sentient beings and who works
tirelessly to help all those who call upon his name.
This figure wears a voluminous dhoti that falls over the
Thirty-three different manifestations of the bodhisattva
legs in copious folds that terminate at the ankles. One are described, including female manifestations as
end of the wide scarf draped over the shoulders loops
well as ones with multiple heads and multiple
over the figure’s right arm and falls gracefully to the base limbs. This chapter has long circulated
while the other end twines around the figure’s straight
independently as a stand-alone sutra
left arm. The very full dhoti is secured in place with called the Avalokiteshvara Sutra, or
a sash above the waist and with another sash casually
Guanshiyin Jing in Chinese, and is
knotted below, its loose ends tumbling over the figure’s commonly recited or chanted at
lap and onto the base. The figure wears a long, elaborate
Buddhist temples in East Asia.
necklace comprising beaded chains suspended from a
double-scroll pectoral; clearly visible on the figure’s back
but concealed from view by the scarves as they pass over
the figure’s shoulders, elaborately tasseled ropes reappear
near the figure’s waist, their ends fluttering over the
robes as if animated by a breeze.
This sculpture represents a manifestation of
Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion,
that is known as the White-Robed Guanyin and that
is identified by the cowl, or scarf, that covers the
top and back of the head. In paintings, where this
particular manifestation of Guanyin is represented
more frequently than in sculptures, the bodhisattva
indeed wears a white robe, in addition to the cowl,
and only limited jewelry. Regarded as a spiritual
emanation of the Buddha Amitabha, Guanyin
ordinarily is identified by a small representation of
Amitabha that appears in the bodhisattva’s crown
or at the front of the topknot of hair; in fact, that
small representation of Amitabha, whether standing
or seated, usually serves as Guanyin’s diagnostic
iconographic attribute. Though it appears in some
images of the White-Robed Guanyin, the small figure
of Amitabha typically is absent in most such images,
the cowl atop the head readily identifying the deity
and the particular manifestation.

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