A bronze and silver inlaid standing figure of Avalokitesvara, China, Ming Dynasty. Photo: Sotheby's.

Height: 39 1/2  in. (100 cm)

PROVENANCE: Private Asian Collection, 1990s

Acquired by the current owner in 2007

NOTE: Avalokiteshvara is the bodhisattva that embodies compassion. The name 'Avalokiteshvara' in Sanskrit literally means 'perceiver of the sounds of the world' indicating that the bodhisattva hears the suffering of sentient beings, and by extension, comes to their aid. This name was translated variously into Chinese as Guanzizai, Guanshiyin and Guanyin, the latter being the form most commonly used today.

Avalokiteshvara is first mentioned in the Lotus Sutra, the most important and influencial of the Mahayana sutras, where it states that Avalokiteshvara can take whatever form necessary to bring salvation. Thirty-three manifestations are mentioned, of which seven are female. The Lotus Sutra gained popularity as early as the Sui dynasty (581-618), with the forms mentioned that the bodhisattva can take providing much inspiration for later iconographic forms of the bodhisattva.

Originally portrayed in Indian art as a male bodhisattva, Avalokiteshvara was depicted bare-chested with a moustache, and dressed as an Indian prince. In Chinese art, the male form gradually gave way to the female, and by the Song dynasty (960-1279), Avalokiteshvara was almost exclusively portrayed feminine.

To the Chinese, compassion was seen as a feminine virtue, and while Daoism had many goddesses to receive prayers related to women's issues, the Buddhists had few. The female Avalokiteshvara filled this void. In this Ming dynasty figure, reminescent of white porcelain figures from the Dehua kilns, the bodhisattva is depicted as an elegant lady, standing with her right hand in vitarkamudra and her left hand holding a vase which she uses to sprinkle elixir over devotees to ease their suffering. The vase has its origins in the kalasha, a Hindu symbol of abundance,  wisdom, and immortality, believed to hold amrita, the elixir of life. She wears a sinicized, feminized version of the Buddhist tricivara, a triple robe comprising an inner garment, an upper robe and outer robe, open at the chest to reveal a lotus pendant suspending beaded chains.  The robe is inlaid with silver wire to form an intricate cloud design and scrolling floral borders currently hidden beneath the oxidized patina. Her hair is tied in a topknot and held in place with a pin. Her expression is serene, her presence calming.

The back of the figure bears an incised four-character seal mark reading Yu Tang Shi Sou (Shi Sou of Jade Hall). A large number of late Ming dynasty bronzes bear the name Shi Sou. Rose Kerr in Later Chinese Bronzes, London, 1990, p. 65, doubts that a single person with the name Shi Sou could be so prolific and suggests that the name is a trade mark for a number of entrepreneurs coordinating the work of several makers. Like this figure, most bronzes bearing the name Shi Sou, are inlaid with silver wire. 

This figure is unusual for its large size. Most examples of Shi Sou marked bronze figures of Guanyin tend to be table-top size, for example see one dated from the 16th to mid-17th century, illustrated in Emperor, Scholar, Artisan, Monk, Sydney Moss Ltd., London, 1984, pp. 280-81, no. 132.

Sotheby's. Footsteps of the Buddha: Masterworks from Across the Buddhist World. New York | 03 sept. 2013 - http://www.sothebys.com