3 headed Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

Kuyunu sculpture is distinctive for its play between figurative and two-dimensional abstraction as well as its emphasis on vibrant coloration. This work is unique for its subject's embodiment of the idea of heightened powers of vision and omniscience through the repetition of three nearly identical faces around the perimeter of the head. Related figures were used in initiation ceremonies that imparted esoteric knowledge concerning the secrets of mystical forces and ancestral influence. Large-sc