A Qing lacquered bronze of the four-armed tantric Chenrezig Buddha. One of the thirty-one forms of Avalokiteshvara, the patron Bodhisattva of Tibet devoted to the salvation of all sentient beings. He wears a five-pointed crown, hair gathered in the shape of a stupa with Amitabha Buddha in the center. The two hands in the front are brought together over the heart in Anjali mudra. His four arms represent the four immeasurables: immeasurable loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Rendered in perfect symmetry, he is seated upright on a large lotus pedestal, meditating with feet upturned in the padmasana position. Perhaps more apparent than the well-worn lacquer and gold, the aged patina and lightly encrusted malachite developed on the solid bronze showing the distinct passage of time. It reflects a deep reverence that alludes to a realized bodhicitta into an elegantly articulated essence of the Buddha.