Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva

JAPAN

This Bodhisattva statue was erected at the request of the Japanese director of the Taiwan Sugar Manufacturing Company. It was created in Japan and is the first outdoor sculpture to be erected in Taiwan’s modern history.
Avalokitesvara stands on a lotus pedestal placed on a Sumeru base 2 m above ground. The Bodhisattva wears a necklace and the hair is tied in a high topknot. A stole is draped over the arms and extends to the lotus pedestal. A thin robe reveals the figure’s sturdy physique as does the skirt that clings to the body, with folds that extend to the heels.
The design of the statue is reminiscent of both the Chinese High Tang period (712–756) and the Indian Gupta period (circa 320–550); however, the upraised left hand in vitarka (teaching) mudra and the relaxed right arm, as well as the winding stole and the thin, clinging lower garment, point to the style of the Hakuho (645–710) and Nara (710–794) periods of Japan.