Bodhisattva of Compassion as Lokeshvara the Sky Flyer (Khasarpana)
Unknown Artist
late 1000s
Medium
Kaolin with traces of pigment
Dimensions
h. 7.7 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Accession Number
1991.155
About this artwork
Exquisite Buddhist votive sculptures carved from soft ivorylike stone were made for personal devotional use during the 11th and 12th centuries in particular. This form of Avalokiteshvara, the powerful bodhisattva of compassion, sits with one foot down in the posture of royal ease, the Buddha Amitabha in his crown. This special form of the bodhisattva of compassion brings relief to hungry ghosts. A hungry ghost with a distended belly praises him in the lower left corner of this plaque, to the lef...