Posted 10 years ago
PATRICKB
(1 item)
Marble Buddha sitting on a lion (dragon).Height 40 cm,Width 30 cm
Heritage from my father.
I know he bought it some 45 years ago.
I think he told me this piece came from the Himalaja and is from the 16/17 th century.
Could it be Chinese from the Ming Dynasty?
Who could give me more info?
This is not a Buddha, but the Goddess of Mercy Quan Yin, popular in many Asian cultures. She is shown here seated on a guardian lion. There are several spellings of her name, in Japan she is Kannon. Cheers, Val
The identity of the statue depends on whether you think this is Ming or modern. If Ming, then it cannot be Guanyin (Quan Yin). The iconography at the time associates the lion with the bodhisattva Manjushri. If it is modern then it could be either since people are pretty loose with iconographies.
This is in the Ming style and probably done when your father purchased it. Done in reference of Manjushri from Liao: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boddhisattva_Wenshu_(Manjushri)_Seated_on_a_Lion,_Baoding,_Hebei_province,_China,_Liao_dynasty,_c._11th_century,_marble_-_San_Diego_Museum_of_Art_-_DSC06497.JPG;
and Guanyin from the Song dynasty: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/42731