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Eleven-Headed Guanyin
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The bodhisattva is an enlightened being dedicated to the spiritual awakening of all beings. The compassionate bodhisattva Guanyin, in a variety of manifestations, is probably the most popular deity of worship in Chinese Buddhism. In the Esoteric Buddhist form shown here, this standing Guanyin has a total of eleven heads, with smaller ones above the principal head. The uppermost head represents the Buddha Amitabha, to whom he is closely related. The eleven heads symbolize the Buddha’s steps on the path to enlightenment.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineEleven-Headed Guanyin (十一面觀音菩薩), 1100–1200. China, late Northern Song dynasty (960-1127) - Jin dynasty (1115-1234). Wood with polychromy and cut gold; overall: 218.5 cm (86 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1981.53
