490 henrik h. sørensen
Although the Acuoye does not display iconographic features represen-
tative of a distinct Esoteric Buddhist iconography, the context in which
it was venerated was one replete with spells, magic, and miracles.
The Acuoye Guanyin appears in both gilded and non-gilded images,
but all have been rendered with a more or less similar iconography. It
appears that the majority of the images once featured both a halo and
a mandorla cast as a separate piece that was attached to the back of the
images. Now more than a dozen such images have been documented in
museums and private collections around the world. The extant images
of Acuoye Guanyin reveal that it was made in a variety of sizes, with
the smallest measuring from around twenty-five centimeters and the
largest rising to a height of as much as three meters.^7
A rare and highly interesting bronze image of the seated, thou-
sand-armed Avalokiteśvara has recently surfaced in Europe.^8 When
compared with similar bodhisattva images from other parts of China,
this example is very slender and has unusually long, thin arms. As is
common for many Dali pieces in bronze, the Avalokiteśvara is seated
in the same half-lotus posture bespeaking a stylistic influence from
Southeast Asia.
Among the numerous Buddhist relics that came to light in connec-
tion with the restoration of the pagodas of the Chongsheng Temple is a
large hoard of bronze images from the mid-Dali period. Most of these
images belong to Esoteric Buddhism and include buddhas, bodhisat-
tvas, various vidyārājas, and other protectors (see Jiang, Qiu, and Yun-
nan 1998, 71–80; Lutz 1991, 76–153; and Lutz and Howard, 1991). At
least two sets of the five dhyāni buddhas have been found, which reveals
that rituals involving the Vajradhātu Mandala in some form were
being practiced among the Bai during the eleventh to twelfth centuries
(Jiang, Qiu, and Yunnan 1998, 74, pls. 64–97).^9 Images of Vairocana
in my opinion not immediately clear, as the style and iconography of the Acuoye
Guanyin comes much closer to the inherited Buddhist art of the Pāla kingdom. Per-
haps Münsterberg was referring to the obvious Indian elements reflected in the image
rather than the Buddhist art from the Gūpta period as such. 7
For the large image, cf. Lutz 1991, 36, pl. 12.
(^8) The image in question was originally offered up for sale at a German auction
house and was later purchased by a Belgian gallery. For a description of the image as
well as a photo, see Marcel Nies Oriental Art 2002, 14–15. The piece is dated by the
gallery to the tenth century, which may be rather too early when seen in comparison
with similar pieces. 9
A closer study of these bronzes and the painted diagram of the Vajradhātu Man-
dala recovered from the main pagoda of the temple may reveal a ritual correspon-