In this pai-miao (outline) work, Kuan-yin's hair drapes over her shoulders. With a semi-transparent halo, she sits on an opulent daybed clasping her knee. Her elegant facial features, such as the delicate eyes and small mouth, create a very feminine appearance. The artist used strokes as fine as silk strands to define the figure outlines and facial features, and also employed delicately graceful yet forceful lines for the drapery, making them look like flowing clouds and water. On the screen is a transcription of "The Kuan-yin Chapter " from the Lotus sutra done in tiny "gnat's-head" regular script. Since the style reveals the influence of Wen Chen-ming's (1470-1559) calligraphy, this is probably by a late Ming (1366-1644) artist.
In this pai-miao (outline) work, Kuan-yin's hair drapes over her shoulders. With a semi-transparent halo, she sits on an opulent daybed clasping her knee. Her elegant facial features, such as the delicate eyes and small mouth, create a very feminine appearance. The artist used strokes as fine as silk strands to define the figure outlines and facial features, and also employed delicately graceful yet forceful lines for the drapery, making them look like flowing clouds and water. On the screen is a transcription of "The Kuan-yin Chapter" from the Lotus Sûtra done in tiny "gnat's-head” regular script. Since the style reveals the influence of Wen Cheng-ming's (1470-1559) calligraphy, this is probably by a late Ming (1368-1644) artist.