A large Chinese carved wood figure of Samantabhadra, seated on an elephant ming dynasty or earlier Composed primarily of three large joined and carved timbers, the deity seated at royal ease on a large elephant, dressed in draped scarves and bodhisattva jewelry, wearing a later Buddha-centered crown, seated with her right elbow resting on raised knee, the right hand on the elephant's neck, retaining traces of pigment. NOTE: The present work is unusual, not only for its large size, but also for the fact that the bodhisattva wears a crown incorporating a seated Buddha, which usually identifies a bodhisattva as Guanyin, as well as assuming a pose akin to "Water-Moon" Guanyin. There are rare examples however of Samantabhadra wearing a crown incorporating a seated Buddha, which may represent the head of the esoteric branch from which the bodhisattva emanates, such as the carved ivory figure seated on an elephant mount, part of a triad of Samantabadra, Avalokitesvara, and Manjusri, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, discussed and illustrated in Denise Patry Leidy and Donna Strahan, "Wisdom Embodied, Chinese and Buddhist Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art", New York, 2010, pp. 132-133. Approx H: 37 in., 94cm; W: 32 in., 81.3cm PROVENANCE: Property from a private collection, Pennsylvania Acquired from Zhan Guo Yan and Gulen Chang, Beijing, January 29, 2002