The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Bodhisattva of Compassion (Avalokiteshvara)

Bodhisattva of Compassion (Avalokiteshvara)

1647–48 or 1658
(Tibetan, 1604–1674)
Tibet
ivory
Overall: 29.2 cm (11 1/2 in.)
Sundry Purchase Fund 1968.280
Location: 237 Himalayan

Description

Chöying Dorjé was one of the most influential monastic leaders in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. Known as the Tenth Karmapa, he was the head of the Karma Kagyu order of monks. His biographies state that from a young age he had a talent and passion for carving and painting images of bodhisattvas and other enlightened beings. Several of his original works survive, including this exceptionally rare ivory carving of Avalokiteshvara holding a lotus. Stylistically it is related to images from southwestern China, where he stayed in exile from 1647 to 1648 in the wake of Mongol invasions that destroyed many Kagyu monasteries in Tibet. While there he was exposed to Chinese art, which was favored by his patrons. The face has the distinctive elongation unique to Dorjé's personal style. This sculpture could have been made during his time of exile or a decade later after his return to Tibet.
  • ?-1968
    (J.J. Klejman, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1968-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1968.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 56, no. 1, 1969, pp. 3–50. Mentioned: p. 49, no. 138; Reproduced: p. 39 www.jstor.org
    Tardy. Les ivoires; évolution décorative du Ier siècle à nos jours. Paris: 1972. Reproduced: p. 250, fig. 2
    Schroeder, Ulrich von. Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet. Hong Kong: Visual Dharma, 2001. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 802–803, pls. XII–20A–B
    Mengele, Irmgard. Riding a huge wave of Karma: the turbulent life of the Tenth Karma-pa. Kathmandu: Vajra Publications, 2012. Reproduced: p. 353, pl. 1
    Debreczeny, Karl, Ian A. Alsop, David Paul Jackson, and Irmgard Mengele. The Black Hat Eccentric: Artistic Visions of the Tenth Karmapa. New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2012. Reproduced: pp. 210-21, fig. 7.32-3; pp. 233, fig. 8.25
  • Year in Review: 1968. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 29-March 9, 1969).
  • {{cite web|title=Bodhisattva of Compassion (Avalokiteshvara)|url=false|author=Chöying Dorjé, the Tenth Black Hat Karmapa|year=1647–48 or 1658|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1968.280