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Source Description
The positions of this figure’s four hands and the flower he holds identify him as a particular form of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Known as Shadakshari Lokeshvara, he joins the palms of his two front hands at his heart in the gesture of respectful greeting, and he holds a lotus in his back left hand; his back right hand, now empty, once held prayer beads. As Shadakshari Lokeshvara (“Six-Syllable Lord of the World”), Avalokiteshvara has an especially strong association with the six-syllable mantra devotees recite to invoke him: Om mani padme hum, “Om, Jewel-Lotus One.” The head of the Buddha Amitabha emerges from the top of his piled-up hair, a variation from this Buddha’s usual placement in Avalokiteshvara’s crown.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
98098
label
Multi-Armed Avalokiteshvara
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
6
Source metadata
id
98098
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Multi-Armed Avalokiteshvara
description
The positions of this figure’s four hands and the flower he holds identify him as a particular form of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Known as Shadakshari Lokeshvara, he joins the palms of his two front hands at his heart in the gesture of respectful greeting, and he holds a lotus in his back left hand; his back right hand, now empty, once held prayer beads. As Shadakshari Lokeshvara (“Six-Syllable Lord of the World”), Avalokiteshvara has an especially strong association with the six-syllable mantra devotees recite to invoke him: Om mani padme hum, “Om, Jewel-Lotus One.” The head of the Buddha Amitabha emerges from the top of his piled-up hair, a variation from this Buddha’s usual placement in Avalokiteshvara’s crown.
provenance
Purchased by Walter Hauser [1], Charlottesville, Virginia, 1964-65; given to Walters Art Museum, 2016.[1] Purchased from an unknown dealer or bazaar shop in Kalimpong or Darjeeling in West Bengal
date
16th-early 17th century
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
sculpture (visual works)
imageCount
6
pageCount
6
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
18.6
height
11
depth
9
dimensionsRaw
H: 7 5/16 × W: 4 5/16 × D: 3 9/16 in. (18.6 × 11 × 9 cm)
Source extras
cul
Tibetan
med
gilded copper alloy, paint, semiprecious stones
creator_ids
6868
collection_ids
INT
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
6cd4ba042b955915
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
802faefd5695e54a
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
603a9a0784b846ed
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
dfe5da7898f13d75
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
5
type
photo
mediaId
66b486f55dc58c6c
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
6
type
photo
mediaId
88d7e5ceb82c3c47
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no