Kuan Yin Statues in White Marble, Made to Order

Kuan Yin statues for the garden, the home and the temple

Kuan Yin is the bodhisattva of compassion, the one who hears the cries of the world. You may know her as Kwan Yin, Quan Yin, Guan Yin or Guanyin; in Japan she is Kannon. She began in India as Avalokiteshvara and, over about a thousand years in China, took the gentle female form now loved across China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea and Japan, and in gardens and meditation rooms across the US.

A white marble Kuan Yin statue is the classic way to keep her. White is her colour, and a carved figure in Vietnam or Makrana white marble holds the soft folds of her robes and the calm of her face in a way cast resin cannot. This collection gathers the ten forms people most often ask for, from a 2 ft altar figure to a 5 ft garden statue.

The ten Kuan Yin forms in this collection

• Pouring her vase on a lotus, 5 ft: the garden form, a stream of pure water falling from her vase. See the 60 in statue.
• With willow branch and vase, 4 ft: the most recognised standing Kuan Yin. See the 48 in statue.
• On a lotus over ocean waves, 4 ft: Kuan Yin of the South Sea, the form behind the great seaside statues. See the 48 in statue.
• In prayer with a halo, 3 ft: palms joined at the heart, a round halo behind her head. See the 36 in statue.
• Holding a lotus flower, 3 ft: one hand raised with a long-stemmed lotus, the other lowered in giving. See the 36 in statue.
• Seated at royal ease on a rock, 3 ft: the relaxed Water-Moon form, one knee raised. See the 36 in statue.
• Holding a child, 3 ft: Songzi Guanyin, prayed to by families hoping for children. See the 36 in statue.
• Standing on a dragon, 3 ft: Kuan Yin riding the dragon above the waves, a favourite for courtyards. See the 36 in statue.
• Seated in meditation on a lotus, 2 ft: hands in her lap around her vase, sized for a home altar. See the 24 in statue.
• Standing figure for a home altar, 2 ft: a compact standing Kuan Yin holding her vase in both hands. See the 24 in statue.

Reading a Kuan Yin statue: the vase, the willow and the Buddha in her crown

Every correct Kuan Yin statue carries a few marks, and a buyer who knows them can tell a well-made figure at a glance. The small vase holds the pure water of compassion, poured out to relieve suffering. The willow branch bends without breaking and is used to sprinkle that water. In her crown sits a tiny seated Amitabha Buddha, her spiritual teacher. A hood or veil falls over her hair to her shoulders, and she stands or sits on a lotus, which rises clean from muddy water.

These marks are why each design in this collection is drawn the way it is. The dragon, the ocean waves and the child are later traditions layered onto the same figure, and each keeps the vase, the veil and the Amitabha crown.

How a Kuan Yin statue differs from a Buddha statue

People sometimes come to Kuan Yin while looking for a Buddha, and the two are easy to tell apart. A Buddha statue shows a monk in a simple robe with a rounded topknot and no jewellery, usually seated in meditation. Kuan Yin is a bodhisattva, one who has chosen to stay in the world to help others, so she wears flowing layered robes, a veil, necklaces and a crown, and she usually holds something: her vase, a willow branch, a lotus or a child.

Many homes keep both. If a Buddha is what you have in mind, see the meditating Buddha statues and the garden Buddha statues.

Choosing between Vietnam and Makrana white marble for Kuan Yin

Eight of the Kuan Yin designs here are in Vietnam white marble, a cool, bright white with very fine grain. It is the white most people picture for her, and it takes the thin edges of a veil and the long folds of a sleeve cleanly. The two altar figures are designed in Makrana white marble, the stone of the Taj Mahal, a slightly warmer white with soft veining that suits a smaller piece kept indoors. Any design here can be carved in either stone.

Size and placement for a Kuan Yin statue

The forms here run from 24 in to 60 in. A 2 ft Kuan Yin sits well on a home altar, a meditation shelf or a cabinet at eye level. A 3 ft figure suits a living room corner, an entry hall or a covered porch. The 4 to 5 ft standing forms are made for a garden, a courtyard or a temple forecourt, where they read from across a lawn.

Kuan Yin is traditionally placed raised, never on the bare floor, and looking out over the room or garden she watches. In a garden, the pouring form looks at home beside a pond or a fountain, and any outdoor figure should stand on a firm, level base that keeps water away from the foot of the statue.

Caring for a white marble Kuan Yin

Dust an indoor Kuan Yin with a soft dry cloth. Outdoors, rinse her with plain water and a soft brush now and then, avoid any acidic or bleach cleaner, which etches marble, and reseal the stone once a year so a white marble Kuan Yin stays bright through rain and sun.

Make your Kuan Yin statue yours

The ten forms above are a starting point. Choose one you love and tell us the height you want, from 2 ft to 5 ft, and whether you prefer Vietnam or Makrana white marble. If you have a photograph of a Kuan Yin you saw in a temple or a family home, send that instead; a close variation, or a design of your own, is just as welcome. Your Kuan Yin is carved for you by the sculptors we work with in Rajasthan, crated and delivered to your door in the US or anywhere else.