{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O60945"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O60945/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AR0339/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AR0339/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006AR0339","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AU8852","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AF9720","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017JT8677","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KE0098","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O60945/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O60945","accessionNumber":"IM.239-1922","objectType":"Figure","titles":[{"title":"Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":"This figure represents the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, the Buddhist Lord of Compassion. He is seen here in his popular manifestation as Padmapani, the Lotus-holder.\n\r\nPadmapani is a Bodhisattva, an enlightened being who voluntarily postponed passing into nirvana so that he could help others to gain salvation. The concept of the Bodhisattva was developed in the Mahayanist school of Buddhist thought, and gained enormous popularity in the Himalayas and the greater Asian world. The stillness and serenity of this figure speaks of the state of harmony to which the Bodhisattva aspires, whilst the flexed and sensuous pose in which he stands links him to the human world. The Bodhisattva's right hand is lowered in the gesture of granting wishes (<i>varadamudra)</i>, and his left hand is poised to support the stem of a lotus <i>(padma)</i>, but this is now missing. The figure is richly adorned with jewellery that is inset with precious  and semi-precious stones. A five-pointed diadem surrounds his elaborately  dressed and raised hair <i>(jatamukuta</i>), which is surmounted by a small image of the Buddha Amitabha of whom Avalokitesvara Padmapani is seen as an emanation.\n\r\nNepalese Newar craftsmen made this finely jewelled image for Tibetan patrons. The long tradition of Newar craftsmen from the Kathmandu Valley working for Tibetan patrons can be dated back to the 7th century A.D.\n\r\nIn 1922 the Victoria and Albert Museum purchased this sculpture from Major Lewis Bathe Rawling (1871-1940). He was the brother of Brigadier-General Cecil Godfrey Rawling (1870 - 1917) who had been a member of the British campaign led by Major Francis Younghusband (1863-1942) which fought its way from India to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, in 1904. The aim of this military assault was to force Tibet to engage in trade with British India and to counter perceived Russian influence in the region. The Tibetan army proved no match for the British-led forces and thousands were killed. Many objects were brought back to Britain in consequence of the invasion. Some had been purchased, but many had been looted from Tibetan monasteries, temples, and homes.\r\n\r\nThe V&amp;A's archive file of 1922 states that the sculpture was 'Acquired in the Shigatse district, Tibet, in 1904, by the late Brig.-General Rawling'. It has often been assumed that Rawling got the figure during the Younghusband Mission, as it was known, but the invading force did not go to Shigatse. Rawling was, however, one of four officers who made a subsequent journey through Shigatse in September 1904 to survey the site of a new British trade agency at Gartok in western Tibet. The sculpture was either sold or given to Rawling at this time or may even have been part of a diplomatic exchange. One of Rawling’s companions, William Frederick O’Connor (1870-1943), was conducting a covert assignment to form an alliance with the Panchen Lama, Thubten Choekyi Nyima (1883-1937), head of the Tashi Lhunpo monastery in Shigatse, to thwart the influence of the Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Thubten Gyatso (1876-1933). \r\n\n","physicalDescription":"Avalokitesvara, the Buddhist lord of compassion, is represented in his popular manifestation as Padmapani, the Lotus-holder. Padmapani is a bodhisattva, an enlightened being who voluntarily postponed attaining nirvana so that he could guide and help others to achieve salvation.  The concept of the bodhisattva was developed in the Mahayanist school of Buddhist thought, and it gained enormous popularity in the Himalayas. The stillness and serenity of this figure conveys to the viewer the state of harmony to which the bodhisattva aspires, whilst the flexed and sensuous pose in which he stands links him to the human world.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"copper-gilt","id":"x29394"},{"text":"rubies","id":"AAT11082"},{"text":"emerald","id":"AAT11074"},{"text":"lapis-lazuli","id":"AAT11122"},{"text":"turquoise","id":"AAT11164"},{"text":"rock crystal","id":"AAT11152"}],"techniques":[{"text":"cast","id":"x32615"},{"text":"gilding","id":"AAT53789"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Gilt copper set with natural turquoise (as well as glass simulants), garnets, green transparent glass (foiled and tinted green), and colourless transparent glass (foiled and tinted red).","categories":[{"text":"Sculpture","id":"THES48896"},{"text":"Buddhism","id":"THES48984"},{"text":"Metalwork","id":"THES48920"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"SSEA","id":"THES48598"},"images":["2006AR0339","2006AU8852","2006AF9720","2017JT8677","2017KE0098"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"18","id":"THES49858"},"free":"","case":"CA2","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"figures (representations)","id":"AAT189808"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Nepal","id":"x30053"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Probably made in Nepal, but it could possibly have been made by Nepalese craftsmen working in Shigatse, Tibet"}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"14th century","earliest":"1300-01-01","latest":"1399-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"93","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"34","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"16.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Weight","value":"150","unit":"kg","qualifier":"approx.","date":{"text":"27/10/2007","earliest":"2007-10-27","latest":"2007-10-27"},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"In 1922 the Victoria and Albert Museum purchased this sculpture from Major Lewis Bathe Rawling (1871-1940). He was the brother of Brigadier-General Cecil Godfrey Rawling (1870 - 1917) who had been a member of the British campaign led by Major Francis Younghusband (1863-1942) which fought its way from India to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, in 1904. The aim of this military assault was to force Tibet to engage in trade with British India and to counter perceived Russian influence in the region. The Tibetan army proved no match for the British-led forces and thousands were killed. Many objects were brought back to Britain in consequence of the invasion. Some had been purchased, but many had been looted from Tibetan monasteries, temples, and homes.\r\n\r\nThe V&amp;A's archive file of 1922 states that the sculpture was 'Acquired in the Shigatse district, Tibet, in 1904, by the late Brig.-General Rawling'. It has often been assumed that Rawling got the figure during the Younghusband Mission, as it was known, but the invading force did not go to Shigatse. Rawling was, however, one of four officers who made a subsequent journey through Shigatse in September 1904 to survey the site of a new British trade agency at Gartok in western Tibet. The sculpture was either sold or given to Rawling at this time or may even have been part of a diplomatic exchange. One of Rawling’s companions, William Frederick O’Connor (1870-1943), was conducting a covert assignment to form an alliance with the Panchen Lama, Thubten Choekyi Nyima (1883-1937), head of the Tashi Lhunpo monastery in Shigatse, to thwart the influence of the Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Thubten Gyatso (1876-1933). \r\n","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Figure of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (Padmapani), the 'Lotus-holder', gilt-copper set with natural turquoise (as well as glass simulants), garnets, green and colourless glass. Produced in Nepal, or possibly Tibet, during the 14th century.","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"John Guy, A Grand Design, The Arts of the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1997, p240-1\r\n"},{"reference":{"text":"Ayers, J. Oriental Art in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London 1983, ISBN 0-85667-120-7","id":"AUTH347571"},"details":"p. 91","free":""},{"reference":{"text":"Baker, Malcolm, and Brenda Richardson (eds.), <i>A Grand Design: The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum</i>, London: V&A Publications, 1999.","id":"AUTH348910"},"details":"","free":""},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Orientations; vol. 40. no. 4; May 2009; The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum.\r\nAmy Heller, Tibetan Buddhist Sculptures in the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Gallery, p. 58."},{"reference":{"text":"L'escultura en el temples indis : l'art de la devoció : exposició organitzada per la Fundació \"La Caixa\" i el Victoria & Albert Museum, Londres. [Barcelona: Obra social, Fundació \"la Caixa\", c2007 Number: 9788476649466","id":"AUTH339669"},"details":"p.43, Cat.104","free":""}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Padmapani)\r\n1300–1400\r\nMalla period\r\n\t\r\nPadmapani means ‘Lotus-holder’. This figure once clasped the stem of a flowering lotus or padma, a symbol of spiritual purity. Padmapani is an important manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, the most widely worshipped of all bodhisattvas. Nepalese sculptors made the figure for Tibetan patrons.\r\n\r\nNepal\r\nGilded copper with precious and semi-precious stones\r\nPurchased in 1922 from Major L.B. Rawling, brother of Brigadier-General C.G. Rawling, who fought in the Younghusband military assault on Tibet in 1904 and obtained the sculpture in Shigatse on a subsequent mission.\r\n\r\nMuseum no. IM.239-1922\r\n","date":{"text":"15/09/2022","earliest":"2022-09-15","latest":"2022-09-15"}},{"text":"The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara\r\n(Padmapani)\r\n1300–1400\r\nMalla dynasty\r\nNepal\r\nGilded copper with precious and semi-precious stones\r\nPadmapani, or ‘Bearer of the lotus’, is one of the most\r\nimportant forms of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara,\r\nthe most widely worshipped of all the bodhisattvas.\r\nThis finely jewelled image was made by Newar\r\ncraftsmen from the Kathmandu Valley for Tibetan\r\npatrons. The figure’s left hand once held the stem\r\nof a flowering lotus.\r\nMuseum no. IM.239-1922\r\nEx Younghusband Expedition 1904","date":{"text":"1/4/2009","earliest":"2009-04-01","latest":"2009-04-01"}}],"partNumbers":["IM.239-1922"],"accessionNumberNum":"239","accessionNumberPrefix":"IM","accessionYear":1922,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2019LP7960","2019LT7364","2019LW3690","2019LW0363","2019LV9212","2020MP1923"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-08-15","recordCreationDate":"2001-07-12","availableToBook":false}}