Unknown Maker, Chinese

This very impressive piece of Chinese ceramic sculpture depicts a female form of the bodhisattva (saved being) Guanyin (Sanskrit, Avalokitesvara). In Buddhism, Guanyin is a merciful and compassionate figure associated with Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Paradise, whose image appears in Guanyin's headdress.

This devotional figure, which was probably used for private worship in a domestic setting rather than a temple, is typical of Dehua wares from the Qing dynasty. The Museum owns one other vessel of a different type from the Dehua kilns, which produced a variety of white ceramics for popular consumption. The Guanyin also relates well to the other Buddhist objects in the Museum's collections.