Jin Dynasty (uncertain) | Yuan Dynasty (uncertain)
Date Made
Jin Dynasty - Yuan Dynasty
Section
Asian
Materials
Wood
Technique
Painted
Iconography
Bodhisattva
Description
Guanyin, known as Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit, is the bodhisattva of compassion. The most popular deity in Buddhism, Guanyin listens to the prayers of the distressed. Devotees would commission the bodhisattva's image to help them gain salvation. This diety's position, with one leg pendant and a bent knee against the ledge, is called the royal ease, lalitsana in Sanskrit, a pose ultimately traceable to pre-Buddhist royalty.
