Guanyin, unknown maker from China

Exhibition Label:
"Nature/Natural," Feb-2011, Kris Ercums
Carved from soft sandstone, this sculpture of a bodhisattva-a being “bound for enlightenment”-was probably made for a Buddhist cave shrine. Although Buddhism first reached China as early as the 1st century CE, the very earliest caves only date to the mid- 4th century. Originally cut as places for quiet meditation, cave temples, or grottos became important sites of devotion and practice. Stylistic comparison suggests that this sculpture originated in the caves associated with Gongxian, located outside of Luoyang in Henan province.

In the early part of the 20th century, looting of cave temples was rampant, and consequently many works were cut from the rocks and sold to foreign collectors and museums. As early as the 1920s, this sculpture was already in the collection of Madame Wannieck in Paris, France. Published images from the period illustrate the bodhisattva as unbroken (image 1). However, by 1960, when prominent New York dealer William H. Wolff purchased the work, the sculpture had already suffered it current break. Ensuing conservation has, unfortunately, distorted the subtle contours of the eyebrows, nose, and lips (image 2). Despite this damage, this sculpture still captures the graceful, flowing robes and placid quietude characteristic of Buddhist sculpture of the late Northern Wei period.