Stone Statuette of Six-arm Avalokiteśvara

Excavated in Xuzhuang, Balipu, Guazhou town, Hanjiang County of Yangzhou city in 1964, this stone statuette with simple bladework and tensile lines presents an Avalokiteśvara with composure and benevolence, serving as a good physical evidence for the study on the Buddhist art and culture of the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD). Clad in light, thin garment, the six-arm Buddha is standing on a lotus altar, with bare feet and two of her hands in Anjali Mudra, namely, two palms held together and resting in front of chest.