Avalokiteśvara

Anonyme

Among the “Barbarian” empires that reigned over the northernmost part of China after the fall of the Tang, the Jin (1115-1234) were great protectors of Buddhism. They cultivated the art of wooden sculpture, sometimes works of impressive size featuring stylistic variations of Tang dynasty conventions. These two bodhisattvas are examples of this art.
Attributes on the central jewel of the diadems enable the identification of the two deities. A small figure of Amitabha, Buddha of the West, indisputably designates one of the bodhisattvas as Avalokiteshvara. The other diadem was identified by O. Sirén as carrying the flaming jewel, which would suggest that this second figure was Mahasthamaprapta (Daishizhi). These two bodhisattvas were attendants to the Buddha of the West preaching in his “Pure Land” of Sukhavati. If this is the case, the statue of the Buddha flanked by these two deities can only have been Amitabha. Closer examination of the diadem ornament of the second deity reveals a long-necked flask, probably the amṛta kalasa, an attribute of the bodhisattva Maitreya. The two bodhisattvas may have flanked a sitting Buddha, but it is more likely that they belonged to a group of eight bodhisattvas corresponding to the canonical tradition of Mahayana Buddhism, placed on the side walls of shrines.