Fragment of Guanyin of Eleven Heads

Esoteric (Vajrayana) Buddhism employs rituals and magic spells and many of the deities are depicted in a multiheaded and multiarmed guise. This form of Buddhism was popular in China during the Tang dynasty, when this image of Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, was made under imperial patronage. Eleven heads represent the stages of enlightenment.

The sensuous sculptural style reflects artistic exhange between China and India. This sculpture originally adorned the Seven Jewels Pagoda that was built in the Tang dynasty capital, Chang'an (modern day Xi'an). This sculpture is one of several similar images that adorned the Pagoda. Another related image from the Seven Jewels Pagoda is also in the Freer Gallery of Art (see F1909.98)

Credit: Gift of Charles Lang Freer