Chinese Plaque Amulet Depicting Tantric Quan Yin with RuYi Scepter and Two Elephants Amid Celestial Field

Wearing a tiny crown, a seated figure sits among cloud scrolls on golden-brown.

This plaque amulet depicting a tantric Guanyin with ruyi scepter and two elephants amid a celestial field is from China, and dates to the early 20th century. It is bone. Chinese carvers worked bone into small plaques with relief figures, and the ruyi scepter is a common emblem of good fortune. Small and rectangular, this slab is carved in relief with a crowned figure holding an upright staff, flanked by curling shapes. The surface is amber to brown, glossy, and set on a thin black stand. It is 1.5 inches wide, 0.5 deep and 2.5 high.

Ornate in a very small format, with every inch decorated.