Longhua Temple: Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
Gilt bronze
Longhua Temple: Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
CHINA, Shandong, Binzhou; Northern Wei dynasty
The statue was discovered in 1983 within the temple site. It depicts Avalokitesvara standing on an inverted lotus pedestal with hands in abhaya (fearlessness) and varada (wish-granting) mudras. The Bodhisattva’s crown is further enhanced by the lotus nimbus behind the figure. The garment and stoles drape down the body and splay outwards in dynamic folds.
The mandorla is shaped like a lotus petal with whirling flame patterns carved into the surface. Curving lines also define the aureole. The inscription on the four-legged stand dates the artwork to 511 and identifies Ming Jingwu as the person who commissioned it.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture G-M, page 615.
Cite this article:
Hsingyun, et al. "Longhua Temple: Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva." Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture G-M, vol. 11, 2016, pp. 615.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Yann Lovelock, Yuan Chou, Susan Huntington, Gary Edson, and Robert Neather. 2016. "Longhua Temple: Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva" In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture G-M, 11:615.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Lovelock, Y., Chou, Y., Huntington, S., Edson, G., & Neather, R.. (2016). Longhua Temple: Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture G-M (Vol. 11, pp. 615).
@misc{Hsingyun2016,
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture G-M},
pages = 615,
title = {{Longhua Temple: Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva}},
volume = 11,
year = {2016}}
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture G-M},
pages = 615,
title = {{Longhua Temple: Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva}},
volume = 11,
year = {2016}}