Important Rare Large Wood Standing Guanyin

This is an attendant bodhisattva figure which probably flanked a Sakyamuni or Amitabba figure. The figure stands  on a lotus platform holding a kalasa flask  in its left hand, which symbolically contains amrita, the pure nectar of immortality. The right hand is raised in the vitarka mudra, indicating the teaching of the Buddhist law. The hair is piled high with two tresses falling behind the earlobes.

Finely sculpted with the lines of the eyebrows falling into the lines of the nose, the face imparts a certain charm with its sweet mien. With the exception of a jeweled collar and drapery flowing down the arms, the torso is bare. At the hips there are loosely gathered skirts adorned with strings of jewels. Carved in a simple yet skillful hand, the garment folds resonate the beauty of simple flowing lines. In keeping with the simplistic beauty of the sculpture form, the remaining traces of malachite pigment indicate that the statue must have been painted in deep colors of elegant and refined taste.