Guanyin

Soapstone was used at an early date in China to create small-scale Buddhist sculptures. This is an important example in the Museum's collection, which shows the Bodhisattva Guanyin seated with raised knee in the pose known in Buddhist iconography as 'royal ease'. (Guanyin was the Chinese goddess of mercy.) It compares closely with a number of large-scale examples in wood and other materials, and like them may well have been made in the northern half of China in the 12th century. It is of greyish soapstone, but traces of red and green pigment remain visible on the reverse of the figure.