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Bodhisattva

Bodhisattva

617-906

Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who chose to forgo nirvana (release from the cycle of death and rebirth) until all sentient beings have attained it. In China, Guanyin became the most popular of all the bodhisattvas because he is the embodiment of mercy and compassion. He answers the prayers of the faithful for protection against calamity and saves them from suffering.
Gilden bronze
5 3/8 x 1 1/2 x 1 1/4 in. (13.7 x 3.81 x 3.18 cm)
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
51.68
location
Now on view at the Asian Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistoryVancouver, British Columbia, Vancouver Art Gallery, "Distant Reverence: Buddhist Sculpture from the Seattle Art Museum", August 16 - October 22, 1989 (08/16/1989 - 10/22/1989)

Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles County Museum, "Arts of the T'ang Dynasty", 1957 (1957)

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.

Published ReferencesBoehm, Christian. "Buddhist Bronzes of the Liao Dynasty." Arts of Asia Volume 49, no. 1 (January-February 2019): p. 90, reproduced fig 7.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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