figure BM-1958-0428.1

Period:Wei, Jin, Southern & Northern Dynasties Production date:471
Materials:bronze, gold,
Technique:gilded, engraved, cast,
Subjects:bodhisattva
Dimensions:Height: 25 centimetres

Description:
Figure of Padmapāṇi, the lotus-bearing manifestation of the Bodhisattva Guanyin (Sanskrit Avalokiteshvara), standing on a lotus stand. Incised on the reverse of the pointed mandorla are Śākyamuni and Prabhūtaratna seated within a hall surmounted by a phoenix, the Red Bird of the South. Inscribed. Made of gilded and engraved cast bronze.
IMG


Comments:Zwalf 1985Padmapāṇi, lotus-bearing manifestation of Avalokiteśvara (Chinese Guanyin, or Guanshiyin), was a popular deity in early Chinese Buddhism, and many images survive, from the 5th century to the late Tang and Five Dynasties. This bronze can be compared with stone figures in caves 7 and 8 at Yungang (c.AD 467), and a series of similarly cast bronze Padmapāṇi images (c.450-550), including the example, dated 478, from a hoard of over 100 Northern Wei bronzes recently excavated at Boxing, Shandong province. Incised on the reverse of the pointed mandorla are Śākyamuni and Prabhūtaratna seated within a hall surmounted by a phoenix, the Red Bird of the South. Rawson 1992:This small image retains the strong rounded forms, bare torso and array of jewels that the Chinese adopted from the images of Bodhisattvas of the lands to the west.