Joined Hands in Seal

Viewing notes

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

This copper-toned seated figure holds its hands joined in a seal. The bodhisattva wears an elaborate crown with a small Buddha at its centre, and sits with eyes lowered in full lotus on a great lotus pedestal, hands pressed together at the chest, fingertips meeting in the mudra — the quietest point in all this ornament. Long robes fall from the shoulders in layered folds across the knees, while behind rises a tall, pointed aureole carved with flame and cloud scrolls, gathering the seated form into the heart of a niche. Beneath the lotus, an auspicious beast crouches in support; below stands a railed platform worked with scrolling vines and lotus panels, a small figure at each front corner. Layer upon layer leads from richness into stillness — wholly dignified at the centre of a shrine, and a complete scene in itself as a collected piece or interior display.