The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin) With Willow Sprig

This painting, which was executed on ramie bast fiber, was discovered in a hidden trove inside the Mogao Caves in 1900. The Mogao Caves, famous for their Buddhist shrines, sculptures, and wall paintings, are in Dunhuang in the Gansu province, which was a major hub for travelers on the Silk Road. The treasures were hidden in this cave sometime during the Song dynasty (960–1279), possibly as a precaution against the encroaching Western Xia army, and were forgotten. In 1908, French sinologist Paul Pelliot (1878–1945) came to Dunhuang and purchased ten truckloads of manuscripts from this trove. After his death, his wife sold this painting.

Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, is shown standing upright with each of his feet supported by a lotus blossom. His raised right hand carries a sprig of willow, with which he sprinkles the nectar of life from the bottle he holds in his left hand. The bodhisattva wears a red and green robe richly adorned with jewelry and a crown bearing the seated image of his spiritual father, the Buddha Amitabha. His hair is fashioned into a chignon and a halo surrounds his head. This early representation of Avalokiteshvara depicts him wearing a thin moustache and goatee. But from the Song dynasty on, most Chinese images show this deity as female.