A Chinese Wooden Sculpture Guanyin “the Bringer of Sons”, 18th century

初 檀木雕送子觀音像
The most precious treasure in premodern China was a son to carry on the family legacy. Reflecting this fervently held wish, a new form of Guanyin emerged that presented the bodhisattva as a bestower of sons. This intimate sculpture, in which Guanyin cradles the hoped-for baby boy, would have been made for personal veneration by a wealthy devotee who wished to become a mother.