Producer unknown to us
Figurine of Guan-yin
Asia, China
First half of the 20th century
Wood, carpentry, carved, gilded
Collector and acquisition context unknown to us
Acquisition from the estate of Prof. Friedrich Weller (indologist) in 1981
OAs 18339 a-d
Guan-yin is the Chinese form of the Indian Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.
In Buddhism, Bodhisattvas are spiritual entities who strive for the enlightenment of Budhahood in order to use it for the salvation of all sentient beings.
In Chinese, her name means “hearing the sounds of the world,” or figuratively, ”(The One Who) Perceives the Suffering of the World.”
Originally, Guan-yin was depicted as a male character, more precisely as an Indian prince.
However, since bodhisattvas are only spiritual entities, they have no gender. Therefore, from the time of the Northern Wei Dynasty (385–535 CE), depictions of the Guan-yin Bodhisattva in China became increasingly androgynous.
Around the same time, a desire arose in Buddhism for a female deity to juxtapose with the popular Daoist goddess Xiwangmu, the “Queen Mother of the West.” Thus, the depictions of Guan-yin eventually transformed her into a Buddhist goddess of mercy, as she is now regarded by a larger number of East and Southeast Asian Buddhists.
The exact circumstances of acquisition of this item are unknown to us to this day.
Dietmar Grundmann