Standing+Four-Armed+Avalokitesvara

=**Standing Four-Armed Avalokitesvara--9th Century Thailand** =

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**Title:** Standing Four-Armed Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion **Artist:** Unknown **Country of Origin:** Thailand **Date/Period:** ca. 9th Century **Medium:** Bronze **Size:** 22 1/4 in. (56.5cm) **Current Location:** The Metropolitan Museum of Art **Museum Number**: 1982.64

**Introduction**  The above image is that of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, which is the name he holds in India; other names are those of Kannon (Japanese) and Kuanyin (Chinese) as well as several others. Avalokitesvara is the Bodhisattva of compassion and appears in many Mahayana Buddhist texts. The two most well known are the Lotus and the Heart Sutras (Strand). Avalokitesvara is identified by the Buddha on his headdress and the lotus which he holds representing his compassion for all. This image of Avalokitesvara is from Thailand which was greatly influenced by India and other parts of Eastern Asia.

**Descriptive Analysis**  The above image of the standing four-armed Avalokitesvara represents the Peninsular or Shrivijaya style from Thailand. This image stands at 56.5cm in hight made of bronze. This Avalokitesvara has three arms up and one down, however his two left are are missing just below the elbow. His first hand is low and open with his palm forward which is known as the gift-bestowing gesture (//varada mudra//), the second right hand is high in the //vitarka mudra//, which means his ring finger and thumb are touching to form a circle with the rest of his fingers slightly bent but not to the point where they meet the thumb. His torso is proportionally quite thin compared to the rest of his body with clothes that cling to his body to the point where it almost looks as though he has no shirt. He has pants that cling to his legs in front but flare out on the sides. He has two decorative belts on, one at the top of his hips and the other toward the bottom that hangs more. His face is slightly rounded with lushes lips, broad nose, and downcast eyes. His hair is up in the jatamukuta with a decorative crown around it. The braids from the jatamukuta hang down to his shoulders. His headdress has a Buddha on the center with a circular halo surrounding it. The headdress is in an arching shape with ridges across the tops and down the sides. Avalokitesvara is standing on a rectangular bronze platform which is around one sixth of the total height of the sculpture. In comparison his headdress is almost as tall as the platform that his stands on.

**Formal and Contextual Analysis** From the 6th to the 9th century the area of what is now Thailand was inhabited by a people called Dvaravati who brought Buddhism to the area (cite source). In the 9th century the Dvaravati were overthrown by the Khmers of Angkor, a people from what is now Cambodia. The 9th century is when many of Thailand's modern northern cities were formed. However, Thailand was composed of many small independent kingdoms before the thirteenth century, so the Khmers only ruled a large portion of what is now Thailand. Buddhism stayed in Thailand however the art, language, architecture, and culture were influenced by the Khmers of Angkor. The Khmers were heavily influenced by Indian Buddhist art and Hinduism. Hinduism was the primary influence until around the 10th century. During the 9th century the Khmers style was divided into Kulen and Preah Ko styles. During Kulen the sculptures became less natural. The face has a more square shape and the weight tends to lean toward the left leg. The Preah Ko style was mostly done with sandstone with a very stylized with deeply carved stucco reliefs (APSARA--Angkorian Styles). Bronze sculptures were not as common in the 9th century (quite common in the 8th but were less popular until the 11th century.)--okay how does this relate to the image you are discussing

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> In Thailand Avalokitesvara is shown with 2, 4, or 12 arms and in either a standing or seated position. The popular mudras of Avalokitesvara in Thailand are the vitarkamudra, abhayamudra, and the varamudra. He can have nine different attributes: Padma, Kamandalu, Aksamala, Pustaka, Tridanda, Cintamani, Pasa, Ankusus, or Gada. He also may have nine different adronments which are headdress, ear ornaments, necklace, upavita, udarabandha, girdle, armlets, wristlets, and/or anklets. (Chutiwongs, page number) The udarabandha is a waist-band or belt, usually above the naval. The upavita is a sacred thread that is draped over the shoulders. Upavitam means "that which surrounds" (Swami).--Again you should be relating this information back to the image otherwise it is not directly relevant.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> His missing two hands probably would have been in the Abayha Mudra or the Vitarka Mudra because there are 6 common mudras from thailand, only two are shown with holding the hands upward, or holding a lotus or jewels. In the picture below of a modern day painting of a seated Avalokitesvara, he is holding a lotus in his one hand, his lower two hands are around a gem, and the fourth hand is holding a crystal mala. The lotus for the painting is said to represent his complete purity of body. The crystal mala symbolizes that he can free all living beings from samsara (The process of coming into existence or rebirth). The jewel is to symbolize his enlightenment. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The symbol of the lotus is usually how Avalokitesvara is identified, so it is most likely one of the broken hands was holding a lotus, specifically the back left hand. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The back right hand in the vitarka mudra symbolized communication and an explanation of the Dharma, since the middle finger and thumb touch this gesture represents great compassion. (lotusscript). The lower right hand in the varada mudra symbolizes giving charity or bestowing blessings, generally used when the Buddha or Bodhisattva is standing. (Buddha-images.com) If one of the broken hands was in the abayha mudra is a symbol of fearlessness and reassurance. One of the broken hands most likely held a lotus, since it is the most well known symbol for Avalokitesvara. A lotus is a symbol of Avalokitesvara's compassion. The lotus that he bears also give Avalokitesvara the name Padmapani, or Lotus Bearer.The combination of hand symbols linked together would mean the explanation of Dharama and compassion for all, which is what Avalokitesvara stands for. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The headdress is quite decorative with the Buddha Amitabha, which is the main identifier for the sculpture that it is Avalokitesvara, especially with the lack of a lotus. Amitabha is represented on the headdress because he is considered the spiritual progenitor of Avalokitesvara. Also the headdress is usually a full braided headdress, not the typical tiara (Leckerling). The headdress is very stylized and is quite large compared to the size of the sculpture and has the most decoration.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Personal Interpretation** I believe the sculpture of Avalokitesvara was made in the mid-9th century because the structure of the face and body is a little more rounded and thinner in the middle but their is very stylized detail in the headdress and attributes. I feel the main focal point of the sculpture is the headdress and face. The face is where the eye is drawn because there is a large amount of decoration on the headdress however there are some necklaces and earrings that draw the focus away from just the headdress and surrounds the face. I feel the missing back left hand would have held a lotus with the front left hand either in the abayha mudra or holding one of the many attributes listed in __The Iconography of Avalokitesvara In Mainland South East Asia.__

Since Hinduism was the primary religion in Thailand during the 9th century the statue may have been for worship or for decoration, my guess would be decoration because it is fairly small and not overly elaborate. Most likely the symbolism of Avalokitesvara was well known because looking at the piece there is a lot of little details that can be seen, like the way the belt is done and the headdress, that have specific meanings. Also the fact that the formation of the hands and other parts were sculpted correctly, it does not look like someone was guessing at what they were doing.

The museum page for the sculpture listed the style as Shrivijaya or Peninsular, however in the analysis I did not list them because I could not find much information on them plus during the time the Khmers ruled the area of Thailand. So the listed styles and the styles in the area during the time I feel would have been probably very close to the same if not identical because the description of the Khmers 9th century styles match up very closely with the sculpture and are well defined. Overall, I think that this piece was a beautiful and precisely created statue for decoration and worship of the Hindu version of Avalokitesvara.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**References** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Leidy, Denise Patry. The Art of Buddhism. Boston: Shambhala, 2008

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mahanidhi Swami. //__Gayatri Mahima Madhuri__. India.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Chutiwongs, Nandana. __The Iconography of Avalokitesvara In Mainland South East Asia.__ Aryan Books International, 2002.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Mudras, Hand Positions of the Buddha.__ 28 March 2011 <http://www.lotussculpture.com/mudras.htm>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Wat Khun Imprumoon, Ang Thong. __Hand Gestures of the Buddha.__ 17 March 2011 <http://www.buddha-images.com/hand-gestures.asp>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Strand, Clark. "Green Koans Case 14: Avalokiteshvara Becomes a Bee." __Tricycle__ (2010). Web Exclusive <[]>. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How is this related to your artwork?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%; line-height: 115%;">APSARA--Angkorian styles. 2004. 3 April 2011 <http://www.autoriteapsara.org/en/angkor/art/styles/angkorian.html>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> Lerkerling, Kit. __ The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. __ 3 April 2011 < []>.