This
magnificent Bodhisattva Quan Yin riding the Water Dragon is a prototype established
in Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD); and by Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) when this sculpture
is carved, among popular variations of QuanYin in painting and sculpture. Respectively,
there is no other prototype QuanYin image more loved by the Chinese and Japanese
pilgrims.
This large and exquisitely carved fruit-wood sculpture depicts Quan Yin,
the embodiment of compassion standing in tribhanger, unfolding from within the
wrapped lotus leaf. She is dressed in full robes, with eyes downcast in serene
expression, holding a life-giving vase in her right hand, a boon granting gesture
in her left, and riding a ferocious Water Dragon frolicking in the whirlpool of
the South Sea. The dragon is a symbol of creative power, the spirit of change,
and of life force itself.
Private Collection
