Tibet or China, 17th–18th century; gilded bronze; 15 15/16 x 9 1/2 in.; Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, 85.04.0160.
15. Eleven-headed Avalokiteshvara
Pilgrims Prostrating at the Jokhang
Lhasa, Tibet, 2006, Luca Galuzzi, www.galuzzi.it.
Tibetans engage in full-body prostration as an act of veneration. They do so in front of the Jokhang Temple, where some of the holiest icons in Tibet reside, such as the Ten-armed and Eleven-headed Avalokiteshvara, known as Mahakarunika.