Naga394 Chinese bronze statue of Kwan-yin (jp. Kannon, sk. Avalokitesvara)

Bronze Kannon (Gwanyin), Chinese. Kannon in Japanese is the most beloved of all the Buddhist deities because he/she is most benevolent. Kannon観音means ‘the lord who sees the sounds of the world’. He is the lord of infinite compassion. I use the male gender here because this sculpture is definitely male. The stance is the ‘Royal posture of ease’, one of the 33 manifestations of the deity known in India as Avalokitesvara. In India the deity is male, often shown with genitals. In Japan, Kannon is almost always female or femininely aligned, without definite sexual attributes. The national treasure sculpture, in wood, in the Chuguji nunnery complex that is part of the Horyuji in Nara, is one such androgynous figure. But the figure here is Chinese. In China, the representation of Avalokitesvara as male went through subtle transformations in painting and sculpture until he too became female, but not until after the Song Dynasty (960-1126). The figure here is from a style of sculpture of the Northern Qi dynasty c. 550 a.d., certainly before the period of transformation. This figure is most likely a forgery and modern. There are no recognizable marks or seals, yet nothing about it suggests that it is not genuine. I purchased the piece in an antique market in Nagasaki. I simply do not know. Width 33 cm., height 73 cm.

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