Two Forms of Goddess Guanyin

The scene, delicately modelled in the „laborious brush“ technique, presents two forms of the popular guardian deity Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy. She is seated on a lotus throne in the painting’s upper part as the „goddess of the southern seas“, while in the bottom part she assumes the less common tantric form of the three-headed, six-armed woman. The Goddess had a similar role in Chinese Buddhist tradition as different saints had in Europe – she was worshipped for protection and support, and sometimes even as the Divine Mother, „a lady who brings children“. The 19th-century artwork was painted by a professional artist and was likely commissioned by a wealthy patron whom it served for a household cult.