Kannonji Temple Main Hall: Eleven-Headed Avalokitesvara

JAPAN, Kyoto, Kyotanabe; Nara period

The statue was made using the wood-core dry lacquer technique, then painted and gilded. Avalokitesvara wears a headdress on which the remaining ten heads are arranged. The expressions on these heads range from calm to angry. A Buddha image stands at the front with a larger head rising behind it. The Bodhisattva’s solemn features are carved with precision. Above the half-closed eyes is set a pearl, representing the urna. The right hand hangs down gracefully with fingers curled, while the left raises a vase from which rise a lotus bud, a mature flower and a seed pod. Stoles fall from the shoulders to wind about the arms and loop across the skirt folded about the waist. The statue was listed as a National Treasure in 1953.