Description
This fragmented sandstone sculpture depicts Avalokiteshvara, the four-armed Bodhisattva of compassion, from the 11th-century Angkor period. Carved in the elegant Baphuon style, it features a high-tied sampot (male wrap garment), a serene face, and a small seated Buddha Amitabha in the chignon—crucial for its identification. Likely once part of a worship triad, the sculpture’s exact origins remain unknown, reflecting the difficulties of tracing displaced artifacts from this period.
Provenance
With Spink & Son, London, by July 1966; sold to Doris Wiener, New York, 1977; sold to James W. Alsdorf (1913–1990) and Marilynn B. Alsdorf (1925–2019), Winnetka, IL, 1978 [invoice from Doris Wiener, June 6, 1978; copy in curatorial object file]; by descent to Marilynn B. Alsdorf, Chicago, IL, 1990 [on long-term loan at the Art Institute of Chicago, Sept. 17, 1997; publicly promised as a gift to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1997; signed a promised gift agreement for the work, Mar. 11, 2002]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, Nov. 15, 2016.
Accession Number
149847
Medium
Sandstone
Dimensions
45.1 × 25.4 × 9.9 cm (17 3/4 × 10 × 3 7/8 in.)
Classification
sandstone
Credit Line
Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf
