A RARE AND IMPORTANT BRONZE FIGURE OF AVALOKITESHVARACHINA, MING DYNASTY, CIRCA 16TH CENTURY

This fine bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara or Guanyin displays the characteristics of the best casting of the Ming period. He is elegantly seated on the lion that raises his head towards his hand that rests delicately on the raised right knee. The small figure in the crown represents Amitabha or the spiritual father of the God of Mercy and Compassion. The life-elixir flask, an attribute of this specific bodhisattva, confirms his identification. In one of his countless manifestations Avalokiteshvara is seated on a lion and as such nominated in Sanskrit as Simhanadalokeshvara.
The unknown artist created the body language of the God of Mercy as introvert and meditative. Even the flamboyant garment and floating sashes seem not to distract the bodhisattva neither the worshipper from its sole goal to extend and to receive the blessings of the god. A bodhisattva is actually a being who achieved Enlightenment, but out of compassion, will not enter Nirvana or total extinction of the self, being the ultimate goal of all Buddhists, until every living creature has been brought along this path of Enlightenment.
The high quality of the casting and lavishly remains of gilt lacquer suggests that the bronze figure stems from an atelier most probably working for the elite of the Chinese society. Its style confirms that the bronze was made during the sixteenth century, most probably during its later half.