Embroidery of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
Linen
Embroidery of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
CHINA; Five Dynasties
This unique embroidery of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva was created in Central Asia during the 10th century. It was acquired by Nikolai Nikolaevich Krotkov, the Russian consul in Urumqi, in 1907.
Avalokitesvara has a round face with an urna, open eyes, large ears, and long hair. The Bodhisattva wears a headdress with an Amitabha Buddha image, as well as a pair of wheel-shape earrings and other jewelry. An inner robe with a floral pattern covers both shoulders, and the outer robe is blue with a wavy design along the hem. The right hand performs the vitarka (teaching) mudra, while the left holds a vase. Behind the barefoot Avalokitesvara is a round nimbus and a mandorla in the shape of a lotus petal.
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}}