Page 53 - November 2016 London Bonhams asian Art

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A POLYCHROMED WOOD FIGURE OF GUANYIN
The figure carved standing on rockwork, wearing a loose flowing robe
falling in graceful folds, open at the chest to reveal a flower necklace,
the right hand in vitarka mudra, the left holding a slender-necked vase,
the hair gathered in a high chignon behind a foliate tiara centred with
a small figure of Amitabha seated on a lotus-form base. 107cm (42
1/8in) high

£10,000 - 15,000
CNY86,000 - 130,000 HK$100,000 - 150,000

The result of a radiocarbon dating measurement test, RCD Lockinge
Radiocarbon Dating Measurement Report, sample no.RCD-8528,
states 95% confidence interval for AD674 to AD780 (69.6%) and
AD788 to AD875 (25.8%).
Venerated in Indian Buddhism as embodiment of the Compassion of
the Buddha, Avalokitesvara was incorporated in the Chinese beliefs
concerning the rebirth in the Pure Land of Amithaba from at least the
1st-2nd century AD. In this context, the deity effected the spiritual
rebirth of the devotees in the blissful land, the ideal atmosphere
leading to peaceful nurturing and enlightenment. According to the
‘Lotus Sutra’, Guanyin assumed a number of different guises, which
formed the basis of the bodhisattva’s iconography. This representation
of Guanyin holding a vase containing the holy water that revived the
thirst of the devotees, appears to have been popular since at least the
Tang dynasty.
A comparable example, carved in stone and dated to the Tang
dynasty, is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum,
no.A.216-1946; another, cast in bronze and also dated to the Tang
dynasty, is included in the collection of the Harvard University Museum,
and illustrated in Chinese Sculptures, New Haven, 2006, p.312.

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