AVALOKITESVARA, MAITREYA.

MANSJURI. Representation of Mansjuri, very popular divinity in Tibetan Buddhism and in a very special way for the followers of the Gelukpa sect, for whom its founder is an incarnation of this divinity.Mansjuri appears standing on a lotus flower throne, with the attributes of a somewhat late iconography. He is represented with two arms whose hands make the gesture or vitarka -mudra or of argumentation, holding between them a fine stem from which a beautiful lotus flower develops. In his most characteristic representation he usually carries in his right hand a knife and in his left hand a lotus with a sacred book, the Prajnaparamita. By the rich ornaments that he wears on his forehead as well as on his chest and waist, he presents a clearly princely aspect more typical of the appearance of a bodhisattva than of a Buddha. The hair gathered on his neck in a headdress with five levels alludes to his own paradise, formed by five sacred mountains, which in China are identified with Wudaishan, and in origin with Mount Meur. Her face is framed in a circular halo while her entire figure is protected by a double almond-shaped halo of two colors, symbol of the light that Mansjuri radiates. The floral background on which the throne sits alludes to the earthly world that contrasts with the celestial world, where the stars shine. The excess of ornamentation together with the static representation of the character, show a late chronology, possibly from the end of the 19th century. As is customary in this type of pictorial formats transferred to the textile technique, the representation is framed in different borders of embroidered and brocaded silk. Extracted from: Isabel CERVERA FERNÁNDEZ: Fundación Rodríguez-Acosta. Asian Art Collection. Grenada, 2002