A very rare lacquered-bronze figure of 'Willow-branch' Guanyin


14th/15th century The Goddess of Compassion crisply cast standing, her left hand holding a vase, her right hand holding a sprig of willow resting on her shoulder, richly adorned with jewels and scarves, the slightly elongated face with a benevolent expression beneath a tall elaborate crown with Amitabha Buddha, traces of gilt and lacquer remaining, stand. 38.5cm (15 1/4in) high (2).
|十四/十五世紀 銅漆金觀音立像This sculpture of Avalokiteshvara holding a willow branch is extremely rare, exhibiting various elements that had survived in Yunnan for several centuries after they had long disappeared in the more important centers of Chinese Buddhism.This particular iconography of Avalokiteshvara or Guanyin holding a willow over the right shoulder and a vase in the left hand, appears to be unique to China. As Luo Wenhua noted 'there have never been any traces found of willow-branch Guanyin in India, and this form of Avalokiteshvara was supposedly created in China around the 6th century, possibly composed of Indian Buddhist iconographic elements and Chinese Daoist medical beliefs'; see Luo Wenhua, 'A Survey of a Willow-branch Guanyin Attributed to the Tenth Karmapa in the Palace Museum and Related Questions', in The Tenth Karmapa and Tibet's Turbulent Seventeenth Century, Chicago, 2016, p.158. Although the 'willow-branch' form of Guanyin was popular during the late Sui to early Tang periods, this form of Guanyin gradually died out, surviving only in a few outer regions, particularly in Yunnan; see K.Debreczeny and G.Tuttle eds., The Tenth Karmapa & Tibet's Turbulent Seventeenth Century, Chicago, 2016, p.211. The jewellery is striking, featuring a large typically Chinese ruyi head necklace, but the elongated face and tall headdress is more typical of South-east Asian style and areas such as Yunnan on the Burmese border. See for example, a much earlier bronze figure of Guanyin, Yunnan, 12th century, but with similarly elongated face and headdress, as well as of similar stance and position, in the British Museum, London (ac.no.1950,0215.1). Another 12th century example of Guanyin, with similar face and headdress, was sold at Christie's New York, 16-17 September 2010, lot 1005.