Guanyin thumbnail 1
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
China, Room 44, The T.T. Tsui Gallery

Guanyin

Figure of Guanyin
1580-1640 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Lacquered and gilt ivory figure of Guanyin the Bringer of Sons holding the child Zen Zai on her right shoulder supported by both hands, wearing a long flowing drapery with a row of beads over her left wrist. Zen Zai wears a tunic and loose trousers, and holds a spray of leaves in his right hand. Mounted on a circular metal base.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleGuanyin (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Ivory, lacquered and gilded
Brief description
Figure of Guanyin the Bringer of Sons, lacquered and gilt ivory, probably Zhangzhou, China, Ming dynasty, 1580-1640
Physical description
Lacquered and gilt ivory figure of Guanyin the Bringer of Sons holding the child Zen Zai on her right shoulder supported by both hands, wearing a long flowing drapery with a row of beads over her left wrist. Zen Zai wears a tunic and loose trousers, and holds a spray of leaves in his right hand. Mounted on a circular metal base.
Dimensions
  • Height: 26.4cm
  • With stand height: 29.2cm
From Register
Style
Gallery label
Guanyin the Bringer of Sons Ming dynasty 1580-1640 The convention of representing Guanyin with a child was influenced by the Christian iconography of the Virgin and Child imported by the Spanish and Portuguese. Lacquered and gilt ivory Probably Zhangzhou, south China Museum no. 274-1898(2009)
Object history
Purchased from a source not recorded in the Asia Department registers, accessioned in 1898. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic reference
Clunas, Craig. Chinese Carving. London: Sun Tree Publishing Ltd in association with the Victoria & Albert Museum, 1996. p. 20, fig. 8.
Other number
51454 - Negative number
Collection
Accession number
274-1898

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
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