Large Chinese Ceramic Guan Yin Statue

Description

PRESENTING a LOVELY Large Chinese Ceramic Guan Yin Statue.

Made in China circa 1950-60 of salt glazed pottery, bisque porcelain … more PRESENTING a LOVELY Large Chinese Ceramic Guan Yin Statue.

Made in China circa 1950-60 of salt glazed pottery, bisque porcelain for face, chest, hands and feet, with hand painted/embellishments.

It depicts the Buddhist Goddess of ‘GUANYIN’.

She is standing on an earthen plinth with blue flowers to the base.

She is wearing a green glazed dress and cape with decorative borders.

Central pink ribbon on her mid-rift.

Hands posed in offering with a cherry in one hand.

Necklace jewelry around her neck and orchids draped over her left shoulder.

White/cream veil or headdress with black hair in a bun, again with decorative beading. The center of her headdress features a seated Buddha.

This would have been an expensive piece to buy in the 1960’s.

IMPRESSIVE SIZE, BEING, ALMOST 3 FOOT TALL!

Weighs circa 43 lbs.

Provenance: Part of a Quality Private Dallas Collection.

Condition: Fair to Good original condition. One very minor chip to base that is not visible. Evidence of break and missing green stems, that lead to flowers on her left shoulder. Hairline crack across lower torso. Evidence of a fairly substantial repair to the base of her dress on the rear and sides BUT it is an ‘intriguing’ repair, as the piece clearly did not break or crack fully and the front is perfect with no repair It is possible that this was a crack during the firing process and filled and repaired by the factory maker. Despite these condition issues, it is still a fabulous piece.

Guanyin is an East Asian bodhisattva associated with compassion as venerated by Mahayana Buddhists. She is commonly known as the “Goddess of Mercy” in English. The name Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, meaning “[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World”. She is also referred to as Guanyin Bodhisattva (traditional Chinese:, pinyin: Guan shì Yin Pú Sà). Some Buddhists believe that when one of their adherents departs from this world, they are placed by Guanyin in the heart of a lotus, and then sent to the western pure land of Sukhavati. Guanyin is often referred to as the “most widely beloved Buddhist Divinity” with miraculous powers to assist all those who pray to her as listed in the Lotus Sutra and Karandavyuha Sutra. Several of the biggest temples in East Asia are dedicated to Guanyin including Shitennoji, Sensoji, Kiyomizu-dera and Sanjusangendo as well as Shaolin. Guanyin is beloved by all Buddhist traditions in a non-denominational way and can be found in some of the most important centers of Indian Buddhism including the Mahabodhi Temple, Ajanta Caves and Nalanda Museum as well as most Tibetan temples where He is referred to as Chenrezig. Furthermore, Guanyin can also be found in some influential Theravada temples such as Gangaramaya and Kelaniya of Sri Lanka as well as the Asian art sections of most museums in the world as a widely depicted subject of Asian art and sculpture. less