Guanyin, Goddess of Love and Compassion

This is an impression of a carved gravestone. Guanyin is represented as a female deity holding a basket with a carp. Appearing in a cloud at the upper left is Weituo, the guardian of Buddhist teaching. The gravestone was commissioned by Empress Dowager Xiaoding (1544-1614), the mother of the Wanli emperor. She ruled in his name when he was still a minor.