Makrana White Marble Kuan Yin Seated in Meditation on a Lotus, 24in

Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva of compassion, sits cross-legged on a double lotus throne in this 24-inch figure of Makrana white marble. Her hands rest together in her lap in the meditation gesture, cradling the small vase of pure water that she pours out for those who suffer. The eyes are half closed and the mouth carries the quiet smile that devotees from Taiwan to California recognise at once.

The iconography follows the Chinese tradition. A hood-like veil falls from her crown over both shoulders, the robes gather in soft folds across the knees, and a small seated Amitabha Buddha sits at the front of the crown, the sign that marks her as Avalokiteshvara in her East Asian form. A carved halo rises behind the head, and the two tiers of petals below lift the figure clear of the shelf it stands on.

Makrana is the stone of the Taj Mahal, quarried in Rajasthan: a bright natural white with a faint warm undertone and a fine, close crystal. It takes a soft satin polish that glows rather than glares, so the face and the lotus petals read clearly in the gentle light of a home altar, and it stays bright for generations with nothing more than a dry cloth.

At two feet the piece suits a home altar, a meditation corner or a study shelf where it sits close to eye level. Each Kuan Yin is carved to order by our sculptors in Jaipur, so the height, the halo and the finish can be adjusted before work begins, and the stone is chosen for an even, clean face. Ask us for a quote, and for a matching figure in Vietnam white marble if you prefer a cooler white.