Tibetan
Buddhism first began to play an important role in China at
the court of Khublai Khan during the Yuen Dynasty (1271-1368).
Its influence expanded in Ming of the Yongle reign (1403-1444),
and finally was fully absorbed in China under the imperial
patronage of Qianlong of Qing (1736-1795). Tibetan Buddhism
transformed not only China's spiritual practice, it has dramatically
altered all forms of Buddhist art in China with a complex
iconography system largely drawn from Nepalese sculpture.
The
presenting example is a cast iron head of Quan Yin Bodhisattva,
whose soft features, round forehead and fuller cheek are distinctively
styles preceeding the Tibetan influence in the Ming and Qing
dynasties. Her solidity and exuberance in fact represents
one of the most important and long lasting styles in Buddhist
imagery to develop in China since 7th century.
The
remarkable quality of this gilt iron head of Quan Yin and
its excellent preservation made dating the sculpture an uneasy
task. The Bodhisattva's round face, her finely forged hairlines
woven in a twin swivels atop its forehead, upon which sits
a well casted Buddha Amitabha, including the Tang style inscriptions
on the front panel "Namah Amitabha" are undoubtedly of the
Tang origin. However, the iconography of an Endless Knot on
the left panel, the Buddhist Wheel of Life on the right, and
on the back panel the Sacred Conch Shell on a rectangular
pedestal suggested a later time. Thus we conservatively date
the statue at late Ming to early Qing dynasty.
