Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva

CHINA; Northern Zhou to Sui dynasty

This sculpture is said to have been unearthed near Xi’an, Shaanxi, in 1909. The Bodhisattva stands with serene head slightly lowered and waist swayed to one side. The figure wears a headdress fronted by a Buddha with long ribbons falling and overlapping a stole that drapes down to the pedestal. The lowered right hand holds a single lotus pod, to the left more lotuses are visible. The lotus design is reflected in the medallions of the neck ornament that is worn over an elaborately jeweled necklace and falls in multiple loops across the skirt. The figure stands barefoot upon a double lotus pedestal guarded at the base by four lions. The attire and posture, with their natural simplicity and lack of stiffness, served as the model for the standing Bodhisattvas of the following Tang dynasty (618–907).