CHINA, late Qing dynasty, 19th century - Lot 297

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Lot n° 297
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Result : 7 500EUR
CHINA, late Qing dynasty, 19th century - Lot 297
CHINA, late Qing dynasty, 19th century Large painted wooden statue depicting Guanyin (the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara) seated in vajrasana on a large, draped lotus, emerging from the waves where a carp is swimming, hands clasped in dhyanamudra, wearing an ample robe revealing his upper torso and a five-pointed tiara containing the Amitabha Buddha, two long locks of hair falling over his shoulders, his face serene with half-closed eyes adorned with black glass-encrusted pupils, the wood bare at the back with a square cavity in his back. H. 162 cm LdM Traces of successive polychromy, chips, cracks, accidents and restorations This large statue would have belonged in a temple. Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin in China), even more than other bodhisattvas, personifies compassion, which perhaps explains the immense and enduring fortune of this deity in China and throughout the Far East. The lotus serves as a throne for most Buddhas and Boddhisattvas: it is a symbol of purification in Buddhism, as it passes through mud and water to emerge into the open air and sunlight, as seen here. The iconography associating a carp with Guanyin is no doubt an allusion to the legend (published in the 16th century) according to which the third son of the Dragon King (King of the Seas), having taken the form of a carp, was captured by fishermen and saved by Guanyin.
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