id:			152487
accession number:	1985.31
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1985.31
updated:		2019-11-18 11:40:29.509000

Head of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, 300s-400s. Afghanistan or Pakistan, Gandhara, late Kushan Period (1st century-320). Stucco with traces of paint; overall: 45.7 x 35.5 cm (18 x 14 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1985.31

title:				Head of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			300s-400s
creation date earliest:		300
creation date latest:		500
current location:		242A Ancient India
creditline:			John L. Severance Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Afghanistan or Pakistan, Gandhara, late Kushan Period (1st century-320)
technique:	stucco with traces of paint
department:	Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection:	Indian Art - Kushan, Gandhara
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 45.7 x 35.5 cm (18 x 14 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		The Twain Shall Meet
	opening date:   1985-10-30T04:00:00
	<i>The Twain Shall Meet</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 30, 1985-January 5, 1986).

	title:		The Year in Review for 1985
	opening date:   1986-02-12T05:00:00
	<i>The Year in Review for 1985</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 12-April 20, 1986).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* Cleveland Museum of Art (11/13/1985-1/15/1986), Asia Society Galleries, NYC (2/13-4/6/1986), and Seattle Art Museum (5/13-7/13/1986): "Kushan Sculpture: Images from Early India"

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PROVENANCE

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fun fact: 


digital description: 


wall description: 
By this period, individual bodhisattvas were beginning to be revered as ideal figures who would deliberately postpone their own enlightenment and entrance into final nirvana, which is a state from which no one returns to be reborn into this world. Bodhisattvas accomplish all but the final meditation leading to full enlightenment, but they are considered to be so advanced in their practice and realization that they have the ability to control their rebirth and act in righteous and compassionate ways to help others achieve enlightenment. Because the remains of a lotus pedestal on which a Buddha sat is at the center of the diadem, this head can be identified as that of the Bodhisattva of Compassion. The idealized linearity of the brows and eyes along with the formalized waves of hair give an ethereal quality to the otherwise naturalistic face.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Neils, Jenifer. “The Twain Shall Meet.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 72, no. 6, 1985, pp. 326–359.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 340, fig. 26
	url:		https://www.jstor.org/stable/25159914

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1985.31/1985.31_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1985.31/1985.31_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1985.31/1985.31_full.tif