China, late Ming or Qing dynasty, 17th–18th century; sandalwood with traces of pigment and gilding, single-woodblock construction; 5 3/8 x 2 3/4 x 2 1/2 in.; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1951, 51.15, photo: www.metmuseum.org.
11. Songzi Guanyin, Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara as the Bestower of Children
Madonna and Child
Workshop of Giovanni Bellini, Italy, ca. 1510; oil on wood; painted surface: 12 3/4 x 10 1/8 in.; overall: 13 1/2 x 10 7/8 in.; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Jules Bache Collection, 1949, 49.7.2, photo: www.metmuseum.org.
Missionaries and foreign visitors to China nicknamed Songzi Guanyin the “Goddess of Mercy.” European prints reproducing Madonna and Christ Child imagery, like the Italian painting seen here, were circulating in China during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), no doubt partially inspiring the maternal iconography in the Chinese work. Yet unlike Mary, Guanyin never bears children herself, only bestows them on others.