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A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF SENJU KANNON This peaceful image represents the beloved Senju Kannon, the
KAMAKURA PERIOD (1185-1333), 13TH CENTURY Thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara, in Japan. It would have originally
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61673 slotted into a round bronze plate with his many arms, forming a
16.5 cm (6 1/2 in.) high Kakebotoke (lit. “hanging buddhas”), common in Japanese Buddhist
shrines. The veneration of Kannon began in Japan in late 6th century,
HK$25,000 - 35,000 shortly after the arrival of Buddhism. This thousand-armed cosmic
form gained popularity in 8th century, and is believed to protect from
illnesses.
鎌倉時代（1185-1333）十三世紀 銅鎏金千手觀音
Mahayana Buddhism holds that every living creature has a kernel of
Buddahood within them. The paradigm of a perfected being is the
bodhisattva. Western writing typically describes a bodhisattva as a
person who commits to postponing his or her enlightenment in order
to guide other beings towards theirs first. However, technically a
bodhisattva is a person who chooses not to pursue the path towards
the personal enlightenment of an arhat, but commits to a much longer
and harder path towards the supreme enlightenment of Buddhahood,
having a greater effect on other sentient beings. Avalokiteshvara is the
most popular bodhisattva exemplar (Mahabodhisattva).
54 | BONHAMS
