08/21/2023
To begin the new year on a positive note, tonight's Art Moment is "Guanyin of the Southern Sea." Bodhisattvas are deities who forgo Nirvana until that time when all sentient beings shall have attained enlightenment. Of these, Guanyin became the most popular as the deity of mercy and compassion, answering prayers and protecting the faithful from catastrophe. Guanyin sits in the position of Royal Ease on a mossy rockery representing Potalaka, an island in the southern sea that is the deity's home. Originally the rockery probably continued up and around the image creating a grotto by the sea. On view in Gallery 230.
