Kuanyi, Goddess of Mercy

Object NameStatue

DateLate 19th century

OriginChina

MediumIvory

Dimensions30 1/2 × 7 × 6 in. (77.5 × 17.8 × 15.2 cm)

ClassificationsDecorative Arts, Natural Substances

Credit LineGift of Ann and Henry Brunnier. In the Ann and Henry Brunnier Collection, Brunnier Art Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.

Object number7.2.2

Status

Not on view

Collections

Decorative Arts

Label TextGreat herds of Indian elephants were kept by Chinese emperors for ceremonial purposes and possibly for use during war. However, the Qing Long Period (1736-1796), the number of elephants had diminished to only sixty, and by 1901 there were none. Throughout the decline, trade in African elephant ivory continued to grow. Larger than the Indian elephant, the African elephant can have great sweeping tusks, enabling artists to produce much larger carvings. The gentle and graceful curve of a tusk perfectly suited a favorite subject of the ivory carvers. Kuan Yin, a female deity, was consistently depicted in an elegant pose wearing flowering attire. Here, Kuan Yin, Buddhist goddess of mercy, holds in her right hand a basket of fish shaded by a lotus blossom. In this transfiguration of the goddess, one of thirty-six, she represents a humanitarian saving a dying carp from the hand of a fisherman by setting it free. In her right hand she holds a sprig of a willow tree, symbolizing long life, and at her side is a phoenix, the emblem of an empress. She stands on a base of two lotus blossoms, suggesting absolute harmony and rebirth. She is flanked by her two court attendants, who are identically carved, both holding two lotus, which echo the theme of harmony established by the larger figure.

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