Makrana White Marble Standing Kuan Yin for a Home Altar, 24in

Kuan Yin stands upright on a round lotus pedestal in this 24-inch figure of Makrana white marble, holding the small vase of pure water in both hands at her waist. It is the vase she pours out to ease suffering, and here it is held close and level, as if she has only just paused. Her eyes are lowered, her face is calm, and the whole figure has the stillness of someone listening.

She is dressed in the Chinese manner. A soft veil falls from the crown over her hair and shoulders, long sleeves hang in deep folds on either side, and the robe drops in layers to the bare feet resting on the petals. At the front of the crown sits a tiny seated Amitabha Buddha, the mark that identifies her as Avalokiteshvara in her East Asian form, and a plain round halo rises behind the head. The lotus pedestal and its carved base lift her clear of the surface she stands on.

Makrana marble comes from Rajasthan, the same quarries that supplied the Taj Mahal. It is a bright natural white with a faint warm undertone and a fine, close crystal that holds small detail well, so the jewellery at the neck, the folds of the sleeves and the petals of the lotus all stay crisp. A soft satin polish gives the stone a quiet glow under candlelight rather than a hard shine, and it needs nothing more than a dry cloth to stay clean.

Two feet tall and slender in plan, this standing figure fits a home altar cabinet, a bedroom shelf or an office niche where a seated figure would take too much depth. 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. Ask us for a quote, or for the same figure in cooler Vietnam white marble.