Avalokiteshvara (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
The compassionate Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara sits here in a yogic pose on a lotus base. His right hand, extended in the gift-giving gesture, offers the hope of salvation to all humankind. His left hand holds the stalk of his principal attribute, a lotus, which is now broken. In his matted locks is a small effigy of his spiritual father, the Cosmic Buddha Amitabha. The sculpture's surfaces are worn from ritual touching, and a halo or nimbus that originally would have been fixed to the lug on his back.
Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Gift of Paul Mellon
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