Minneapolis Institute of Art

Bodhisattva, one of a pair

China

Date

1770

Medium

Gilt bronze

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Such popular Buddhist images as Avalokitesvara, the compassionate one, were occasionally produced in sets. Since the act of making or commissioning a religious work was considered pious in itself, those who could afford it often commissioned multiple images. Here the jeweled and crowned deity is represented as a perfectly poised yogi seated in the lotus posture on a dais, the hands placed together in the lap forming the dhyana mudra, the gesture of meditation. The figures are set off by aureoles adorned with a flame motif representing purity. The identical inscriptions written in Chinese characters across the bases read: Reverently made in the gengyin year of Qianlong (1770) during the great Qing Dynasty. China, Asia

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