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Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
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Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
CAMBODIA; Late 10th century; Sandstone; H: 130 cm; Guimet Museum of Asian Art, Paris, France
The Bodhisattva wears a crown with a cylindrical topknot with a Buddha figure in front. The Bodhisattva is mustached and the eyes are cast downward in a head held high. Apart from the carved crown band, the Bodhisattva is simply presented and largely unadorned. While the upper body is bare, the Bodhisattva wears a Khmer skirt or sampot with a fan-shaped fold at the waist and a hanging ornament shaped like a fishtail. The figure's forearms and feet are missing, and the left earlobe is damaged. Mahayana statues of Avalokitesvara with a Buddha image in the crown appeared in Cambodia by the 7th century, and became common under the reign of King Jayavarman VII (reigned circa 1181-1220). |
