Lokesvararupam Bodhisattva

CHINA

The sculpture is located on the left side of the first story of the Yuhua (Rain and Flower) Court of the Palace Museum. The inscription on the piece is engraved in Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian and Tibetan. According to the Chinese version, the Bodhisattva image was created by imperial edict in 1752. It may have been modeled on a sculpture sent to Beijing via a resident minister in Tibet.
The Bodhisattva once held a lotus in the inward-turned left hand, while the other hand forms the varada (wish-granting) mudra. The figure differs in some significant aspects from typical images of the Bodhisattva. Firstly, the three-leaf crown is simplified and larger in size. Second, a high topknot overhangs symmetrically on both sides of the crown. Third, the uniquely shaped earrings are similar to those depicted on cave murals in India and Xinjiang. Fourth, the image on the crown is not of a seated Amitabha but repeats this Bodhisattva’s stance while holding a lotus.
The mandorla behind the figure is highly decorated while twin pagodas are located on either side of the lotus pedestal below.