Larger Than Life Terracotta Buddha Bust Of Guanyin, Early 20th Century, China

A massive larger than life terracotta buddha bust of Guan Yin,
China, early 20th century.
Broken and restored with wear and tear from enduring exposure to the elements.
Size: 75 cm high.
Weight: 40 kg.

Guanyin, Kwanyin, Guanshiyin or Guanyin Pusa is the Chinese interpretation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara (the goddess of comfort and mercy). In addition, she is seen in Taoism as an immortal. The scripture dedicated to her is Dabeizhou. Guanyin is the goddess of compassion and the sea. She is one of the three saints of the western paradise, along with Mahasthamaprapta and Amitabha Buddha; they are worshiped to save departed loved ones from hell and grant them entrance to the western paradise.

Guanyin
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 觀音
Simplified Chinese 观音
Transcriptions
Full Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 觀世音
Simplified Chinese 观世音
Literal meaning "[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World"
Transcriptions
Second alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 觀自在
Simplified Chinese 观自在
Literal meaning "Lord who Gazes down on the World"
Transcriptions
Burmese name
Burmese ကွမ်ယင်
IPA [kwàɴ jɪ̀ɴ]
Tibetan name
Tibetan སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet Quan Âm (Quán Âm)
Quán Thế Âm (Quan Thế Âm)
Quán Tự Tại
Chữ Hán 觀音
觀世音
觀自在
Thai name
Thai กวนอิม, พระอวโลกิเตศวรโพธิสัตว์
RTGS Kuan Im, Phra Avalokitesuan
Korean name
Hangul 관음, 관세음, 관자재
Hanja 觀音, 觀世音, 觀自在
Transcriptions
Mongolian name
Mongolian script ᠨᠢᠳᠦ ᠪᠡᠷ
ᠦᠵᠡᠭᠴᠢ
Japanese name
Kanji 観音, 観世音, 観自在
Hiragana かんのん, かんぜおん, かんじざい
Transcriptions
Indonesian name
Indonesian Kwan Im, Kwan She Im, Awalokiteswara
Filipino name
Tagalog Guanyin (ᜄᜓᜀᜈᜌᜒᜈ)
Sanskrit name
Sanskrit अवलोकितेश्वर (Avalokiteśvara)
Khmer name
Khmer អវលោកិតេស្វរៈ (Avalokitesvarak), អវលោកេស្វរៈ (Avalokesvarak), លោកេស្វរៈ (Lokesvarak)
Hmong name
Hmong Kabyeeb, Niam-Txiv Kabyeeb, Dabpog, Niam-Txiv Dabpog
Guanyin (traditional Chinese: 觀音; simplified Chinese: 观音; pinyin: Guānyīn) is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara (Sanskrit: अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion.[note 1] She was first given the appellation "Goddess of Mercy" or "Mercy Goddess" by Jesuit missionaries in China.[1] Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means "[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World."[2] On the 19th day of the sixth lunar month, Guanyin's attainment of Buddhahood is celebrated.[3]

Some Buddhists believe that when one of their adherents departs from this world, they are placed by Guanyin in the heart of a lotus, and then sent to the western pure land of Sukhāvatī.[4] Guanyin is often referred to as the "most widely beloved Buddhist Divinity"[5] with miraculous powers to assist all those who pray to her, as is mentioned in the Pumen chapter of Lotus Sutra and Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra.

Several large temples in East Asia are dedicated to Guanyin, including Shaolin Monastery, Longxing Temple, Puning Temple, Nanhai Guanyin Temple, Dharma Drum Mountain, Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, Shitennō-ji, Sensō-ji, Kiyomizu-dera, Sanjūsangen-dō, and many others. Guanyin's abode and bodhimaṇḍa in India is recorded as being on Mount Potalaka. With the localization of the belief in Guanyin, each area adopted their own Potalaka. In Chinese Buddhism, Mount Putuo is considered the bodhimaṇḍa of Guanyin. Naksansa is considered to be the Potalaka of Guanyin in Korea. Japan's Potalaka is located at Fudarakusan-ji. Tibet's Potalaka is the Potala Palace. Vietnam's Potalaka is the Hương Temple.

There are several pilgrimage centers for Guanyin in East Asia. Putuoshan is the main pilgrimage site in China. There is a 33 temple Guanyin pilgrimage in Korea which includes Naksansa. In Japan, there are several pilgrimages associated with Guanyin. The oldest one of them is the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage, a pilgrimage through 33 temples with Guanyin shrines. Guanyin is beloved by most Buddhist traditions in a nondenominational way and found in most Tibetan temples under the name Chenrézik (Wylie: Spyan ras gzigs). Guanyin is also beloved and worshipped in the temples in Nepal. The Hiranya Varna Mahavihar located in Patan is one example. Guanyin is also found in some influential Theravada temples such as Gangaramaya Temple, Kelaniya and Natha Devale nearby Temple of the Tooth in Sri Lanka; Guanyin can also be found in Thailand's Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Wat Huay Pla Kang (where the huge statue of her is often mistakenly called the "Big Buddha") and Burma's Shwedagon Pagoda. Statues of Guanyin are a widely depicted subject of Asian art and found in the Asian art sections of most museums in the world.

Condition report:

Good. Repaired. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Minor structural damages. Minor fading. Broken and restored with wear and tear from enduring exposure to the elements.