Longshan Temple Great Hero Hall: Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokitesvara

CHINA, Fujian, Quanzhou; Ming dynasty

Avalokitesvara wears a jeweled crown with a Buddha in the center, round which the Bodhisattva’s other heads are clustered. The eyes are closed in the broad, calm face beneath the crown. Two palms are joined in anjali (reverence) mudra before the chest, while one thousand and eight arms are arrayed about the body, each bent at the elbow and with an eye on the palm. The hands also hold various Dharma objects, instruments and offerings, or are held in mudras. Beaded ornaments connected by medallions cascade over the gilded skirt, where stoles flutter down from either side.