This
exquisitely carved large boxwood sculpture depicts KwanYin, the embodiment of
compassion, standing in tribhanger on a ferocious dragon frolicking in the whirlpool
of the South Sea, which is the symbol of creative power, the spirit of change,
and of life force itself. She is dressed in full robes, with eyes down-cast in
serene expression, holding a life-giving vase in her right hand, a boon granting
gesture in her left; which is a prototype established in Tang Dynasty (618-907
AD). There is no other KwanYin image more loved by the Chinese and Japanese pilgrims.