Guanyin and the sixteen luohans

Guanyin and the sixteen luohans

Unidentified artist

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Chinese beliefs about magical islands and enchanted caves were blended with Buddhist ideas imported from India to create iconographic combinations like the one you see here. Mystical clouds encircle the magical island of Mount Putuo as a dragon rises from the crashing waves. The bodhisattva Guanyin, who pledged to forgo enlightenment and remain in the world in order to aid suffering beings, sits in a cave high atop the mountain. Sixteen luohans, wizened guardians of the Buddhist law, pay her homage. Prostrating before Guanyin is the young pilgrim boy Sudhana (Chinese: Shancai), who has come to her seeking spiritual guidance.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Guanyin and the sixteen luohansGuanyin and the sixteen luohansGuanyin and the sixteen luohansGuanyin and the sixteen luohansGuanyin and the sixteen luohans

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.