Avalokitesvara Padmapani: Bodhisattva of Mercy Bearing a Lotus (c. 1000s): Art, History and Details

Avalokitesvara Padmapani: Bodhisattva of Mercy Bearing a Lotus (c. 1000s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Venerated by Buddhists across the world as the perfect embodiment of compassion for all beings, this bodhisattva-a being only one stage away from complete enlightenment-holds his right hand out gently in the gesture of gift-giving. In his left hand, he once grasped the stem of a lotus flower that blossoms over his left shoulder, indicative of the abundant benefits that result from acts of loving kindness. All bodhisattvas wear royal garments and jewels, in reference to the historical Buddha’s early life as a prince, prior to his achievement of enlightenment through meditations in the forest. In the center of his crown is the tiny seated image of the meditating Buddha Amitabha that identifies this figure as Avalokitesvara specifically. Nepalese bronzes of the 11th century are solid cast and have an exceptionally high copper content in the alloy that makes the bronze difficult to manage during fabrication. The color achieved by the extra copper creates a distinctive warmth and softness in the sculpture. The flexed toes of the right foot and the swinging to one side of the gathered ends of his garment impart a sense of dynamism to his ongoing act of giving. His facial expression is sweet and placid but sharp, as though he is keenly aware of the sufferings of the world.

Object facts

• Title: Avalokitesvara Padmapani: Bodhisattva of Mercy Bearing a Lotus
• Date: c. 1000s
• Culture: Nepal
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: bronze with gilding, pigment, and semiprecious stones
• Dimensions: Overall: 62 cm (24 7/16 in.)
• Collection: Nepalese Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1976.3

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1976.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 64, no. 2 (February 1977): 39–78.
• “Art of Asia Acquired by North American Museums, 1975-1976.” Archives of Asian Art 30 (1976): 103–126.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.