The present work is carved entirely from zitan, a hardwood commonly referred to as red sandalwood that was exported from India to China in the Ming and early Qing dynasties. While zitan is a general term which includes numerous species of wood, it is commonly agreed that it belongs to the genus Pterocarpus. A purplish-black, fine-grained hardwood, zitan was considered the most prized hardwood by the Chinese. The density of the wood makes this material especially suitable for fine and intricate carving. While much of the zitan that came from India to China and Tibet was used for furniture, as the hard grain of the wood made it resistant to splitting and swelling in changes of climate, smaller quantities were used for boxes and other scholars’ accoutrement. Fewer works of sculpture in zitan are known, although the precious nature of the wood meant it would have been an appropriate material for an object of worship. Due to its slow-growing nature, zitan often was only available in small quantities.
The tradition of Buddhist figures carved from sandalwood originates in India, with the prototype being the famous image purportedly commissioned during Buddha's lifetime by mythical king, Udayana. The Chinese monk Xuanzang returned from his pilgrimage to India in the seventh century with two highly-prized Buddhist images carved from sandalwood. In the Tibetan context, the famous Nepalese sandalwood image of Arya-Avalokiteshvara (otherwise referred to as the Phagpa Lokeshvara at the Potala), tentatively dated to the seventh-eighth century, was copied numerous times in later periods, establishing a tradition of sandalwood carvings in Tibet, as illustrated by U. von Schroeder in Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, 2001, vol. II, cat. nos. 195 and 196.