The figure depicted here shows the "Water Moon Guanyin", the Chinese name for Avalokiteshvara, the Buddhist deity of compassion. It was created as an independent figure towards the end of the 6th century. In China, 33 guanyins were known, of which the Water Moon Guanyin, the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in the "water moon" form, is the most popular. It goes back to a story in the Avatamsaka Sutra. In the Buddhist context, the moon and water are one of the ten metaphors frequently mentioned in the Buddhist sutras to illustrate the emptiness of the world in true nature. . the typical posture of the Water Moon Guanyin shows her seated with her right knee raised and her left leg crossed in front of her body.