Manjusri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas

KOREA; Goryeo dynasty

The colors and style of these two images suggest that they date from the late Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). They originally belonged to a set of three paintings that included a Buddha image, which is now kept in the Cleveland Museum of Art, USA. Both Bodhisattvas wear ornate crowns decorated with Buddha images and sit on lotus thrones with pointed petals. They have long black hair, small eyes, slightly pointed chins, and thin mustaches.
Manjusri Bodhisattva sits atop a lion and holds a ruyi (wish-fulfilling talisman) with the left hand. The blue lion stands upon lotus pedestals and has its mouth open, appearing to roar. An attendant in a red robe is shown on the right, holding a chain attached to the lion’s collar. Samantabhadra Bodhisattva sits on the back of a six tusked white elephant and holds a lotus in the raised right hand. On the left, an attendant with a stole draped across the chest guides the elephant with a rope.