Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva

NEPAL

Stylistic considerations lead some scholars to speculate that a Nepalese artist working in Tibet created the statue. The slim and elegant figure stands in tribhanga posture, with one foot advanced. The head wearing a crown with a large flower ornament is inclined to the left. A long urna in the center of the forehead, and the jewelry adorning the body were originally inlaid with a gem. A sacred thread running from shoulder to thigh has the same rhythm movement as the long lotus stem held in the left hand. The lotus twines upward to blossom at the figure’s shoulder. It is uncertain where the Bodhisattva’s thin garment begins, but flaring ruffles at the bottom show where it ends. The supporting lotus pedestal and accompanying nimbus are missing.