Page 70 - Christie's, materpieces of Buddhist Art December 2, 2015 HK

This beautiful sculpture is a work of art, and also a religious
image. In both aspects it succeeds, at a surface level (fine
carving, stately size and posture) and at a deeper level (arresting dhoti, folded over at the waist and tied with a sash to form a
and contemplative presence).
The figure depicts the bodhisattva known in India as
Avalokiteshvara (the “Lord who looks down”) an embodiment
of compassion. In China the deity is called Guanyin, which
means “comprehending the cries [of the world]”. The statue
would originally have sat in a temple hall, along with other
Buddhist figures of veneration, in northern China (possibly
Shanxi province). Many northern temples were as extensive as
palaces, and contained a series of courtyards in which stood
magnificent buildings devoted to worship, teaching and monks’
living quarters. Guanyins with attendants were often placed
back to back with the main Buddha image in an image hall,
facing the rear doorway leading into a further courtyard. Thus
they protected the sanctified domain against evil spirits. They
were often attached by wooden pegs or dowels to elaborate
backgrounds, for example those mimicking the appearance of
stone grottoes. In this way wooden images in temples imitated
the appearance of large-scale Buddhist temple grottoes carved
into hillsides and mountains.
The figure is life-size, which provides a special dynamic between
object and viewer. The figure is clearly a celestial being, and yet the V&A figure was composed of 12 blocks of wood, many
is the same size as a human person. Furthermore, its original
decoration would have conferred a naturalistic appearance,
which will be discussed below. The deity is seated in the
dhyanasana position, a posture of meditation, in which the legs
are locked in full-lotus position with the soles of the feet turned are the hands, and the legs with crossed feet. This method of
upwards so as to be visible. The hands adopt the abhayamudra,
granting the absence of fear to all sentient beings. In this
mudra the right hand is turned up and outwards, while the left
is held horizontally, palm upwards and slightly cupped. The
bodhisattva’s features are plump and benign, with full cheeks,
and lips slightly open to portray a calm rhythm of breathing. The
meditative state is emphasised by his quiet, tranquil face with
inward-turning gaze. Beneath heavy eyelids his eyes are inset
with black glass, and his gaze is focussed on the spiritual world.
Because the bodhisattva was originally an Indian prince he
is shown with his hair coiffed, wearing elaborately draped
robes and jewels. The deity’s image travelled from India with
Buddhism during the Han dynasty, down the long Silk Road.
His depiction was adapted to portray East Asian physiognomy,
but he continued to wear jewels and robes that revealed the
body, in an Indian manner quite alien to Chinese traditions.
Thus his long hair is drawn back in sections from his forehead,
with loops of hair draped over the ears falling to knotted
coils on each shoulder, and drawn up into a high chignon
on top of the head. A scalloped cape with jewelled necklace
and pendants is worn round the shoulders, over a double-
layered upper garment bound with sashes and ribbons. This
allows the upper layer of his sleeves to blow backwards in the
68 Masterpieces of Buddhist Art 大俱足 — 經典亞洲佛教藝術
heavenly wind, forming unusual winged shapes at each elbow.
His plump wrists are braceleted, and his lower garment is a
double skirt that falls to the feet and is draped in graceful folds
above the ankles. The Brahmanic cord is tied round his body.
In the back of the image a cavity has been carved through the
drapery, that would originally have held religious sutras and
perhaps some other relics, long since removed.
An image of this nature needs time and detailed, quiet
observation to be fully appreciated. I first comprehended
this many years ago, when I worked in the Victoria and
Albert Museum. The museum owned another beautiful 12th
century Guanyin made of Paulownia wood, that needed
to be conserved. For many months, I visited the figure on
a weekly basis, while the conservators carried out their
lengthy, painstaking work. For ease of access, the statue was
placed on a high trolley, at eye-level. Repeated viewing, and
discussion with the conservators, enabled me to become
closely acquainted with the sculpture, and fully to appreciate
its magnificent carving and decoration. Over and above that,
everyone who worked with the sculpture remarked that it
seemed to spread a calm feeling throughout the studio!
Conservation research, including X-radiography, revealed that
fixed together with wooden dowels that reinforced the joints.
In a similar manner the Christie’s bodhisattva is made of many
sections employing wooden pegs and dowels. For example,
the top of the chignon is attached as a separate section, as
construction, using blocks of wood fitted together, is almost
universal in Song dynasty wooden imagery.
The surface of the V&A figure had been re-decorated many
times, probably as part of refurbishment of the temple in
which it once stood. Re-decoration was necessary because
such sculptures were situated in draughty, unheated halls,
and suffered depredation from the elements. Historical
repairs may have been paid for by pious devotees, as an act
of devotion that attracted merit. Conservators were able to
identify four distinct layers of decoration, an original scheme
and three later restorations. The original appearance of the
sculpture gave it a lifelike appearance, with pink flesh, blue-
black hair and brilliantly-coloured silk robes patterned in gold.
Yet another lovely seated wooden Guanyin in the Rijksmuseum
in Amsterdam was conserved at a later date than the V&A
example, and found to have been redecorated eight or nine
times over the centuries! It also had a naturalistic appearance
when first made in the 11th-12th century.
When both the V&A and the Rijksmuseum Guanyins were re-
decorated for the first time, their appearances underwent a
complete transformation. Using a red lacquer bole under gilding,
the images were transformed from a naturalistic appearance, to
resemble chased and burnished metal. On the basis of stylistic