Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva

CHINA; Northern Wei dynasty

Avalokitesvara stands on an inverted lotus pedestal with a four-legged stand. The Bodhisattva faces forward holding a lotus in the left hand on one side of the sculpture. The figure faces to the right on the reverse. Both Bodhisattvas wear an elaborate headdress, stoles that billow about the body, and jewelry around the neck and chest. The lower body is skirted. The lotus-shaped mandorlas patterned with flames are of different designs and enclose the nimbus and aureole. The legs of the stand are engraved at back and front. There is a foliated band on one side beneath which are two figures making offerings. An inscription stating the work was created in 504 for Han Yuan of Gaoping Village on behalf of his deceased younger sister, wishing that she would be reborn in the heavens is on the other side.