A dharma friend attended school at the Kansas City Art Institute. While there she and her friends would frequently visit the Nelson Atkins. They discovered the Guanyin and would attempt to offer the bodhisattva golden eggs with out getting caught by security. I always loved that story and have gone to sit with him every time I've been to this museum.
Guanyin of the Southern Sea, Liao (907-1125) or Jin Dynasty (1115-1234)
Chinese
This polychrome wooden figure of Guanyin is possibly the best-preserved and most magnificent sculpture from this period of Chinese Buddhist art. A bodhisattva, unlike a Buddha, refrains from entering Nirvana until all sentient beings have attained enlightenment. Guanyin, the bodhisattva most associated with compassion by Chinese Buddhist followers, is depicted here in a pose of royal ease. Gentle and calming, the Guanyin bodhisattva would appeal to patrons in need of emotional support and guidance. With coloring dated to no later than the mid-16th century, the sculpture’s vivid tonal intensity adds to the bodhisattva’s emotional approachability.
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