This large figure of Guanyin deeply carved in beige soapstone is depicted standing with a Buddhist lion at her feet. She is dressed in long layered robes with a simple bead necklace. She leans towards her left, holding a scroll in one hand while the other hand is hidden in a long billowing sleeve. Her hair, fastened with a comb at the top of the head, falls gently to her shoulders in two knots. Her facial features are finely incised. The piece exudes qualities of serenity and compassion as is typically embodied by Guanyin. Guanyin or 'Guanshiyin' is the 'Bodhisattva who hears the cries of the world'. Otherwise known in Sanskrit as Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion.In Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a Sanskrit term that refers to one who has achieved salvation but chooses to forgo nirvana out of compassion for the suffering of others.
