Java: Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva

INDONESIA, Central Java, Sragen

The statue was unearthed from Sragen in Central Java and is identified as Avalokitesvara who wears an elaborate crown with a seated Buddha at its apex. The figure’s hair falls from beneath the crown and spreads over the shoulders in an unusual shawl-like formation. The eyes are wide in the round face with its broad nose and mouth. A thin layer of gold and silver has been inlaid into the lower eyelids and lips to give them greater definition.
A stole runs diagonally across the chest, which is also ornamented with a necklace collar. The lower garment is belted at the waist, with a jeweled ornament about the hips. Both arms of the figure are held forward with hands bent upward at the wrist. The right hand is in abhaya (fearlessness) mudra and the left hand in karana (warding off evil) mudra. The mandorla is in the shape of a slender open arch with a rim of flames encircling the exterior. A canopy is mounted on a flame ornament at the very top of the mandorla while two tufts of clouds are located near the Bodhisattva’s feet. Both the pedestal and mandorla are supported on a square Sumeru base.