Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara Padmapani

1674

Bodhisattva of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara Padmapani, 1674. Nepal. Stone; overall: 46.3 x 23 cm (18 1/4 x 9 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Claude De Marteau 1978.24 The stone stele is carved with a standing bodhisattva supporting two lotuses that flank him on both sides. For this reason, he is called Padmapani (Lotus Bearer). In the center of his crown is a seated Buddha Amitabha. The cult of Padmapani has been extremely popular in Nepal at least since the 500s AD. An antelope skin is draped over his left shoulder, indicated his iconographic connection with Hindu ascetics.