Bronze statue - Bodhisattva Guānyīn

Bronze statue - Bodhisattva Guānyīn, single piece

Bronze, height 240mm, weight 1071g.

Guānyīn (Guan Yin, Guanshiyin, Kwan-yin or Kuan Yin) is one of the most important bodhisattvas of Pure Land Buddhism in China.

Symbol meaning

Guanyin is the bodhisattva of fertility and femininity, the patron saint of fishermen, sailors, and merchants, but also of children and the sick. Guanyin is the Chinese equivalent of the goddess of mercy and compassion, Avalokiteśvara. Guanyin's Chinese name, "Guanshiyin", roughly translates to "She who perceives the sounds of the world". Guanyin is seen as a bodhisattva with the ability to take on countless forms. Perhaps her most famous image is of a young or middle-aged woman with noble features, dressed in flowing white robes (white is the color of purity), wearing the luxurious necklaces of royalty around her neck. In her right hand, in addition to the traditional lotus, she holds an often depicted fishbowl, or sacred bowl (a bowl or pot is also one of the eight Buddhist symbols of happiness), which contains the purest water, the divine nectar of life, compassion, and wisdom. In the fingers of her left hand, she holds a willow branch, with which she sprinkles water on people, blessing them with physical and spiritual, all-encompassing peace. The willow branch as an object symbolizes the bodhisattva's ability to bend but not break.