MING DYNASTY, 16TH CENTURY

Avalokitesvara, or Guanyin in Chinese, remains one of the most popular deities in the Buddhist pantheon, and is very well represented in sculpture of the Ming dynasty. A much larger (147 cm.) Ming dynasty gilt-bronze figure of Guanyin, shown seated in the same position and with similar facial features, is illustrated in A Special Exhibition of Recently Acquired Gilt-Bronze Buddhist Images, Taipei, 1996, pp. 84-5, no. 24. However, it is interesting to note the decorative fret border at the top of the dhoti seen on the present figure, which does not seem to appear on other bronze figures of this deity, and may be unique.