Statues exemplifying the style of the master Buddhist sculptor Zen’en (a.k.a. Zenkei; 1197–1258) feature innocent, child-like expressions like the one seen here. The name of the Kōfukuji priest Han’en (dates unknown) appears inside the statue, along with a prayer for protection addressed to a Kasuga deity. This image is thought to represent Jūichimen Kannon as the original form of the deity in the fourth of the five main Kasuga shrines.
 
YAMAGUCHI RyusukeEnglish by Mary Lewine 
Buddhist Art Paradise: Jewels of the Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 2021.7, p.335, no.184. 

There is a sense of sweetness and youthful beauty to this statue. From an inscription on an inner surface of the image and another on a sutra scroll deposited within it, we learn not only that it was produced by the Buddhist sculptor Zen’en and consecrated in 1221 (Jōkyū 3), but also that it emerged within the context of faith in the Kasuga deities. While colors have been added during repairs in the time since its production, its exquisite colors dating to the time of its production can be seen in the decorative scarf at the abdomen.  
Audio guide 

The ink inscription was written inside of the body and the colophon on the Diamond sutra deposited therein, suggesting that this statue was made by the Buddhist sculptor Zen'en in 1221 based upon the faith in the Kasuga deity. The eleven-headed Kannon was enshrined as an original substance of Buddhist deity (honji) in the Forth shrine of Kasuga Shisho Myōjin (the Four Gods of Kasuga).
 
Shigeki Iwata 
Masterworks from the Nara Buddhist Sculpture Hall at the Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 2010, p.141, no.132.