The Lion at His Shoulder

Viewing notes

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

This copper-toned seated figure pairs an ascetic's severity with one small, lively companion. High-browed and deep-eyed, with a curled beard and a bared chest lean enough to show its bones, he is unmistakably a man of hard practice. Both hands are clasped at his chest around a shallow round bowl, and the wide robe falls from his shoulders in a slow, generous arc across his legs. The most touching stroke is at his left shoulder, where a small lion climbs beside him, a forepaw laid on the shoulder, its curled mane and upturned tail carved full of life — a playful counterpoint to the elder's grave face. He sits on a round woven mat over a rough rocky base. The copper glows warm at the face and the high points of the folds, ancient in mood yet not lifeless: a figure for quiet enshrining and contemplation, and, among arhat subjects in a collection, one that carries a story.