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Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara South-central Tibet Ca. 1400 Gilt bronze with semiprecious stones 15 1/8 in (38.4 cm) Originally, the figure would have stood on a lotus base. Clad in a dhoti and a sash and bedecked sumptuously with a profusion of semiprecious stones, the tall, slim figure stretches his right hand in the charity gesture, while the left appears as if grasping the stem of the lotus. In fact, the stem is attached to the upper arm and ends at the elbow. The lotus helps to identify the bodhisattva as Avalokiteshvara. There seems no doubt that the figure represents the classic form for the deity favored by Newar sculptors. However, whether it was created in the Kathmandu Valley or in a Newar workshop is more difficult to ascertain. Generally, it is of the same generic type as the impressive bronze in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and a smaller example in a private collection. The V&A bronze was acquired from Shigatse but is considered to be a Nepali work. It could equally have been made in a Newar workshop in Shigatse. The Ford figure is not as robustly modeled as the V&A version, and clearly the sculptor has used different proportions, resulting in a more slender figure with long arms and legs. Similarly lissome proportions, especially of the legs and the spare frame, are found on other Tibetan figures as well. In fact, the latter figure, in the Nyingjei Lam Collection, described as a "long-limbed, slender youth with princely adornment," has features that are applicable to the Ford Avalokiteshvara as well. However, the tiara and the adornments of the Ford figure are even more luxuriant, with the colorful stone-encrusted lotus, turquoise-inlaid urna (rectangular also in the V&A and the Nyingjei Lam collection), and the tiara embellished with the auspicious face-of-glory (kirtimukha) motif. all
text and images © The Trustees of the Walters Art Gallery,
Baltimore
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 attributed to Laotsu  five Go into the desert at night and took out at the stars. This practice should answer the question. The enlightened person settles her mind as the universe settles the stars in the sky. By connecting her mind with the subtle origin, she calms it. Once calmed, it naturally expands, and ultimately her mind becomes as vast and immeasurable as the night sky. — Edited by Brian
Walker
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