At Ease on the Rock

Viewing notes

A viewer's written impression — not a buyer review or first-hand record

This copper-toned bodhisattva sits at ease on a flat-topped rock, one arm resting loosely on a raised knee and the other hand set down on the stone beside a slender-necked vase. A tiny Buddha is set into the front of the crown, and behind the head a plain ring of halo rounds the whole seated figure into a complete circle. Eyes lowered in a soft smile, she wears layer upon layer of beaded ornament; her skirts stream over the edge of the rock, one foot planted on the ledge and the other resting lightly on a lotus below. Beneath the rock, the base is carved with curling waves — stillness seated above moving water, the sashes still faintly astir. Such open, unhurried ease is rare in a devotional image: a piece for enshrining, or for a window seat or tea corner, where it relaxes the room at first sight.