Thousand Arms, Two Tall Staffs

Viewing notes

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

This many-armed standing bodhisattva in deep wood tones carries behind her a huge, nearly perfect circle of light. She stands on a lotus pedestal, her hands pressed together at her chest, another pair folded in her lap holding an object, her expression serene. The halo is formed of countless small arms packed densely together, each hand holding an implement, a round plaque or a jewel, radiating outward like rays. At each side in front of her, a tall golden staff rises past her head — one ringed, one trident-shaped — the two straightest lines against the circle. Above her crown, small heads and a little Buddha are stacked in tiers. The lotus below carries a multi-tiered hexagonal base whose patterns step inward in good order. Darker in tone and rounder in halo than most of its kind, from a distance she looks like a full moon risen behind her. For a shrine, or as the principal piece of a room, she brings the weight that settles a whole space.