Head of Avalokiteshvara or Prajnaparamita

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Head of Avalokiteshvara or Prajnaparamita

Cambodia, mid-12th century or later
Sculpture
Sandstone
6 1/2 x 3 3/4 x 3 1/8 in. (16.51 x 9.52 x 8.04 cm)
Gift of Marion Hammer-Jacob (AC1992.282.1)
South and Southeast Asian Art
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

This crisply carved sandstone head wears a diadem and has a conical headdress with an identifying small image (bimba) of the emanation source deity, which is here depicted as a Buddha seated in the me...
This crisply carved sandstone head wears a diadem and has a conical headdress with an identifying small image (bimba) of the emanation source deity, which is here depicted as a Buddha seated in the meditation posture (padma asana) with his hands held in the gesture of meditation (dhyana mudra). Accordingly, this head could represent the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara with the Jina Buddha Amitabha in his crown, who is portrayed as here, or it could be the goddess Prajnaparamita with the Jina Buddha Akshobhya, who is sometimes represented with his hands held in the meditation gesture. Without the original body of the deity, it is difficult to ascertain who the head represents because the physiognomy of male and female deities in Cambodian sculpture of this period is virtually identical unless they are mustachioed. (Brown 2008, p. 85). This head has full lips, but no mustache.
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Bibliography

  • Little, Stephen, Tushara Bindu Gude, Karina Romero Blanco, Silvia Seligson, Marco Antonio Karam. Las Huellas de Buda. Ciudad de México : Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2018.
  • Little, Stephen, and Tushara Bindu Gude. Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art across Asia. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2025.
  • Little, Stephen, Tushara Bindu Gude, Karina Romero Blanco, Silvia Seligson, Marco Antonio Karam. Las Huellas de Buda. Ciudad de México : Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2018.
  • Little, Stephen, and Tushara Bindu Gude. Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art across Asia. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2025.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya; Dehejia, Vidya; Slusser, Mary Shepherd; Fisher, Robert E.; Brown, Robert L. Arts of Asia 15 (6): 68-125 (November- December 1985).

  • Brown, Robert L. "Selections From the Southeast Asian Art Collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art." Arts of Asia 38 (3): 75-87 (May-June 2008)

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