Manjusri Bodhisattva

CHINA; Yuan dynasty

The Bodhisattva wears a ribonned five-leaf crown inlaid with turquoise, coral, and various gems, matching the figure’s other jewelry. The broad face, with its widely spaced features, is tilted slightly to the left and the neck has the three lines of a great person. The Bodhisattva wears a long, unwrinkled skirt fringed with flowers between beaded borders. Manjusri sits in full lotus position with hands forming the Dharmacakra (Dharma wheel) mudra while supporting long lotus stalks. The flowers at the shoulders are believed to have once supported a sutra and a sword, the attributes of Manjusri.
The copper base is engraved with an image of crossed vajras and an inscription at the rim states the piece was commissioned in 1305 by Gao Quanxin and family on behalf of the donor’s parents. This is the earliest Tibetan bronze sculpture recorded during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368).