Monumental Chinese Carved and Painted Wood Figure

Monumental Chinese Carved and Painted Wood Figure of Eight-Armed Avalokiteshvara, Circa 1880

Qing Dynasty (1644–1911).

Height: 206cm
Width:112cm
Depth: 55cm

A rare and commanding temple figure of Avalokiteshvara, exquisitely carved in wood and retaining traces of its original polychrome. Standing life-size at over two metres tall, the bodhisattva is depicted in full regalia—crowned, bejewelled, and robed in flowing garments—radiating serene authority. Eight arms extend in graceful symmetry, each hand forming a distinct mudra, symbolising the deity’s boundless compassion and manifold powers.
This sculptural survivor of Qing devotional art was likely created for temple worship, its scale and iconography reflecting the syncretic Buddhist traditions embraced during the dynasty’s later period. Figures of this size and complexity rarely emerge on the market, especially with original surface decoration intact.
Provenance: Long held in a UK private collection.