Title
Multi-armed Quan Am (Avalokiteshvara)
Year/Period
18th century or later
Region
North Vietnam
Object Type
Material
Technique
Dimension
Unknown Type: Please refer to parts
Accession No.
1998-00054
Collection of
This large glided bronze figure of Quan Am has 24 arms: two at the front in the prayer gesture, two on her lap in meditation, and five detachable pairs at each shoulder holding many different attributes including a lotus, ‘chakra’ (discus), conch shell, ‘vajra’ (thunderbolt), vase, bell and prayer beads. She wears a tall crown with several hairpins and her eyes are closed in meditation. Quam An is the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, she is also known as ‘Guanyin’ (观音) in China. She became highly popular due to her universal powers to help alleviate all kinds of suffering.
