The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 3, 2023

Bodhisattva Guanyin

觀音菩薩

900s

China, Liao dynasty

(916-1125)

Gilt bronze

Overall: 43.8 cm (17 1/4 in.); Diameter of base: 14.6 cm (5 3/4 in.)

The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 1976.14

Location

241C Chinese Buddhist Sculptures

Description

In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a being who, just before reaching enlightenment, turns back to assist others to reach enlightenment first. This bodhisattva holds his hand palm forward, in a gesture that tells followers not to fear. In his other hand he carries a bottle that holds the elixir of immortality.

Provenance
R. T. Bruce, London, England
?–1976
(J. E. Eskenazi, Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1976–
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1976.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 64, no. 2 (1977): 39–79. Mentioned: no. 158, p.79; Reproduced: no. 158, p. 63 www.jstor.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 335 archive.org
Guo li gu gong bo wu yuan 國立故宮博物院. Hai wai yi zhen. fo xiang [海外遺珎. 佛像 = Chinese art in overseas collections. Buddhist sculpture]. Taibei Shi: Guo li gu gong bo wu yuan, 1986. Reproduced: pl. 147
Sun, Di 孙迪, editor. Zhongguo liu shi hai wai Fo jiao zao xiang zong he tu mu [中国流失海外佛教造像总合图目= Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Buddhist Statues in Overseas Collections]. Beijing: Wai wen chu ban she, 2005. vol. 7, 1309
Chung, Anita. "Two Bodhisattva Images in The Cleveland Museum of Art." Orientations vol. 41, no. 8 (Nov./Dec. 2010) Reproduced: p. 91, fig. 2-2a
Eskenazi, Giuseppe, and Hajni Elias. A Dealer's Hand: The Chinese Art World Through the Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi. London, England: Scala, 2012. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 210, pl. 89
Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 98
Exhibition history

The Arts of China from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Mansfield Art Center, Mansfield, OH (February 27-April 10, 1983).

Year in Review, 1976. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 1-March 6, 1977).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1976.14