Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

Angkor period, 11th century

Thailand or Cambodia

This fragmented sandstone sculpture depicts Avalokiteshvara, the four-armed Bodhisattva of compassion, from the 11th-century Angkor period. Carved in the elegant Baphuon style, it features a high-tied sampot (male wrap garment), a serene face, and a small seated Buddha Amitabha in the chignon—crucial for its identification. Likely once part of a worship triad, the sculpture’s exact origins remain unknown, reflecting the difficulties of tracing displaced artifacts from this period.

Status: On View, Gallery 142
Department: Arts of Asia

Artist: Khmer
Title: Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
Place: Southeast Asia (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1001–1100
Medium: Sandstone
Dimensions: 45.1 × 25.4 × 9.9 cm (17 3/4 × 10 × 3 7/8 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf
Reference Number: 2016.426
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/149847/manifest.json

Pratapaditya Pal with contributions by Stephen Little, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago in association with Thames and Hudson, 1997), 137 (ill.), 311‒312, cat. 177.
Stephen Little, “Southeast Asian Sculptures from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection,” Orientations, vol. 28, no. 7 (July/Aug. 1997), 58, fig. 4.
Rajeshwari Ghose, In the Footsteps of the Buddha: An Iconic Journey from India to China (Hong Kong: University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, 1998), 215‒216 (ill), cat. 45.
Robert L. Brown, “An Aesthetic Encounter: Khmer Art from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam”, Orientations, vol. 42, no. 3 (Apr. 2011), 52, fig. 3.

Art Institute of Chicago, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Aug. 2–Oct. 26, 1997, cat. 177.
Hong Kong, University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, In the Footsteps of Buddha: An Iconic Journey from India to China, Sept. 26–Dec. 15, 1998, cat. 45.

With Spink & Son, London, by July 1966; sold to Doris Wiener, New York, 1977; sold to James W. Alsdorf (1913–1990) and Marilynn B. Alsdorf (1925–2019), Winnetka, IL, 1978 [invoice from Doris Wiener, June 6, 1978; copy in curatorial object file]; by descent to Marilynn B. Alsdorf, Chicago, IL, 1990 [on long-term loan at the Art Institute of Chicago, Sept. 17, 1997; publicly promised as a gift to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1997; signed a promised gift agreement for the work, Mar. 11, 2002]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, Nov. 15, 2016.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.