Embroidery of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
Silk
Embroidery of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
CHINA; Yuan dynasty
This embroidery of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva was created by Guan Daosheng during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). This piece is particularly unique due to the artist’s reported use of her own hair style to represent the Bodhisattva’s wind blown shoulder length hair.
The figure stands tall and dignified. A long robe covering both shoulders blows in the wind, exposing the bare feet. Hands are placed one on top of the other, grasping prayer beads.
This unusual embroidery is a fine example of Guan Daosheng’s work. The composition is very simple, but highly effective. Avalokitesvara is depicted in thin black lines, apart from the thick windswept hair against an orange background.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Artifacts, page 70.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Youji and Pokorski, Stefanie and Mankuang and Fan, Wen,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Artifacts },
pages = 70,
title = {{Embroidery of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva}},
volume = 18,
year = {2016}}