Asian Arts | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries | Message Board

This piece has been in the family for many years. I recently cleaned it with plain water and removed a heavy patina of dust that was so bad that I thought it was a plaster cast! There are remnants of green paint. She's some kind of very heavy wood. Internet web sites suggest that she's a Tibetan Kwan Lin. Can you confirm? It's 59cm high, 15.25cm across the plinth, and weighs a hefty 5.5kg. I see values from ten dollars to tens of thousands. Is she rare? Valuable?

This appears to be of Thai origin and not rare, probably obtained from someone who visited the area while in the service.

This is actually Chinese in Origin, and it is definitely a Bodhisattva. Probably Quan yin (also known as: Kwan Yin, Guan Yin, or in your case, Kwan Lin), The Bodisattva of mercy. It appears to be from the early to mid 20th century, but could possibly be a little older. Large Chinese wooden Buddhist statues with any age to them are not at all easy to find. But the statue is in my humble opinion worth something. If you can find out any details as to when and how it came into your family, it might help. It is a real beauty. I hope this helps.

PS. I will include a few photos (in addition to some information) of a large wooden Chinese Shou Lao statue that I have.

Chinese Shoulao (Longevity god) Wood Statue HUGE (5 foot) Statue dating back to the 1920s to 1930s
This is a very unique and interesting statue. It was carved from one solid piece of wood (you can see the growth rings in the wood on the bottom). Christie's auction house, in New York, auctioned this piece off years ago to a lady named Ruth Openheimer. Christie's estimated that it dated back to sometime in the 1920's or 30s. After quite some time, Ruth moved out west from the east coast and sold it to a gallery in Scottsdale, AZ. It is a fairly heavy statue weighing in at a solid 85 Lbs.

Shoulao (also known as Sau for short) is one of the three Chinese luck gods: Fuk (wealth god), Luk (prosperity god), and Sau (longevity god), and they are often seen together in painting and sculpture. However, Shoulao is by far the most famous and popular of the three, and it is not at all uncommon to see him depicted in many different artworks alone without his companions. He is easy to recognize with his characteristic large and bulbous bald head and long beard. He carries a long staff and a peach, and his robes are often decorated with longevity symbols. I suspect that the Japanese longevity god known as Fukurokuju is based on this deity.

James

I looked at the photos again, and I really like it, and I think it is definitely of some value.

Here are a couple photos of my only other Chinese statue in my collection. I will include a breif description below.

Chinese Meditating Buddhist Monk Wood Statue
Early 20th century (1930s)

I purchased this meditating Buddhist monk statue from an Antique store in San Diego (not one of the many fake Chinese antique outlets there). They acquired it from a man in Escondido, California. The man�s Grandfather brought it back from China sometime between WW1 and WW2).
Dimensions: 70cm (27.5 inches) H x 25.5cm(10 inches) W

James

Asian Arts | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries | Message Board