Mogao Cave 17: Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva

CHINA, Gansu, Dunhuang; Five Dynasties to Northern Song dynasty

This 10th century painting depicts Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva sitting on a lotus throne, wearing bright gold ornaments and a crown. A dark green stole floats around the six arms. The two raised hands hold a red sun disc with a bird in the center and a white moon disc containing a tree. The two middle hands each form the vitarka (teaching) mudra, and the two lower hands hold a vase and prayer beads. On the sides of the painting, there are scenes of devotees being rescued from danger after reciting the name of Avalokitesvara, a practice described in the “Universal Gateway Chapter” of the Lotus Sutra. On the left, a figure is pushed off a cliff and saved by a cloud, a prisoner in a cangue (wooden collar) escapes, and a man avoids an attack by a snake. On the right, a prisoner about to be executed is saved when the sword breaks, a man runs from a robber, and a figure stands within flames unharmed. The empty cartouche in the center of the lower register is flanked by depictions of the painting’s sponsors.