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Radiating Avalokitesvara |
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A monumental sandstone figure of an eight-armed radiating Avalokitesvara, muscular and powerful, the hair, upper torso and arms covered in minute representations of the Buddha and with seated figures of Prajnaparamita (the Goddess of Transcendent Wisdom) on the chest, stomach and lower back; the face beatific beneath a raised chignon bearing a seated figure of Amitabha, wearing a short pleated sampot with a broad fishtail at the front.These images are believed to represent the Khmer ruler Jayavarman VII. There are celebrated examples of this type in both the Bangkok National Museum and the Musée Guimet, with only one other large version appearing in the art market in recent years [see M. Lerner, Ancient Khmer Sculpture, Chinese Porcelain Company exhibition catalogue, New York, 1994]. According to Lerner (ibid.), there are fewer than a dozen known examples of this type. |
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