Bodhisattva Guanyin

Bodhisattva Guanyin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bodhisattvas are usually adorned as royalty, with heavy jewelry, layered silk robes, and elaborate headdresses. At the center of Guanyin’s crown sits a cross-legged Buddha, the celestial Buddha Amitabha of the Western Paradise, from whose forehead Guanyin is said to have first emerged. The vase in Guanyin’s hands often appears in depictions of the bodhisattva in two special forms: White-Robed and Water-Moon Guanyin.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.