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Seated figure of the bodhisattva Guanyinfront

© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

  • Seated figure of the bodhisattva Guanyin (front)
  • Seated figure of the bodhisattva Guanyin (side)
  • Seated figure of the bodhisattva Guanyin (back)
  • Seated figure of the bodhisattva Guanyin (front)
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Seated figure of the bodhisattva Guanyin

  • Description

    This image is of Guanyin, or Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva who assists souls to achieve enlightenment. The bodhisattva was constructed in thirteen parts. It was fitted together using mortise and tenon joints, a technique also used in making furniture and buildings. In China, the construction and display of large sculpture both relate closely to architecture. This figure would have occupied a central position towards the rear of a temple hall.

  • Details

    show all
    Associated place
    Asia › China (place of creation)
    Date
    13th century (1201 - 1300)
    Jin Dynasty (1115 - 1234)
    Material and technique
    fig-tree wood, with carved decoration, and traces of pigment on a pink gesso ground; mortise and tenon joints
    Dimensions
    172.7 x 93 x 85 cm estimated, max. (height x width x depth)
    Material index
    organic › vegetal › wood › fig wood,
    processed material › cement/plaster › gesso
    Technique index
    formed › carved,
    carved,
    assembled › jointed,
    decorated › painted,
    painted,
    more
    Object type index
    religious/ritual equipment,
    sculpture › figure › statue
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Purchased with the assistance of the Art Fund, the Friends of the Ashmolean Museum, and the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, 1982.
    Accession no.
    EA1982.2

  • Further reading

    Piper, David, and Christopher White, Treasures of the Ashmolean Museum: An Illustrated Souvenir of the Collections, revised edn (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1995), no. 33 on p. 36, illus. p. 37 fig. 33

Location

    • Second floor | Room 38 | China from 800

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

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