Bodhisattva Guanyin of the South Sea

Cleveland Museum of Art

Bodhisattva Guanyin of the South Sea

Date
1600s
Medium
Porcelain with white glaze, Dehua ware
Culture
China, Fujian Province, Ming dynasty (1368-1644) - Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
Department
Chinese Art
Institution
Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID
127950

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

Guanyin, the Buddhist bodhisattva of infinite compassion (Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit), is the most revered enlightened being in East Asia. The bodhisattva perceives all beings in need of help and reveals himself in many forms. Here, his elaborate lotus pedestal rests on the crest of surging waves, identifying him as Guanyin of the South Seas. The Dehua kilns in Fujian province in southern China produced white porcelain figures for both the domestic and export markets. In China, such a figure may have furnished a house altar or a temple. When Marco Polo visited China in the late 1200s, he was so impressed by the Dehua kilns that he included lengthy descriptions of ceramic production in his chronicle of his journey.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line
The Norweb Collection
Provenance
?–1950: Mrs. R. Henry [Emery May Holden] Norweb [1895-1984], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art | 1950–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Part of a LinkedCulture topic

  • Representative object from the topic Buddhist and Hindu Iconography
    Buddhist and Hindu Iconography

    These objects are connected by their representation of sacred figures and deities from Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions across Asian cultures, including sculptures, paintings, and ritual objects depicting buddhas,

    183 objects from 5 institutions

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