The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is the Lord of Compassion. He is the patron saint of Tibet and the patron deity of the Tibetan Gelugpa school. Its head, the Dalai Lama, is considered the incarnation of Avalokiteshvara. Of its 108 different manifestations, a sacred number in Tibetan Buddhism, it is most often represented with 11 heads and many arms.
The Avalokiteshvara shown here is shown standing with 8 arms and 10 heads, the bottom nine of which are almost identical in their equipment. The tenth head shows an angry appearance to defeat the opponents of Buddhism. The eleventh head is the head of the Buddha Amitabha, one of the five transcendent Buddhas (jinas) and “spiritual father” of Avalokiteshvara.
Details
- Title : Elf-headed Avalokiteśvara
- Year : 18th century
- Classification : Sculpture
- Medium : Bronze castings
- Dimension : Object dimensions: a) 44 x 25 x 10.5 cm (Avalokita) Object dimensions: b) 47 x 30 x 1 cm (Aureol) Object dimensions: c) 7.5 x 20.5 x 12 cm (base) Object dimensions: 53 x 30 x 12 cm (total) ; weight: 5.8 kg (ac)
- Accession No : Identification number. I 9995 ac
- Country/ Geo-location : NEPAL
- Collection : Pergamon Museum
- Acquisition Method : Purchase of Frieda Hinze
- Collection : Museum of Asian Art South, Southeast and Central Asia
- Photo : Museum for Asian Art of the State Museums in Berlin - Prussian Cultural Heritage