Thousand Arms in Flames

Viewing notes

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

This many-armed bodhisattva on an altar throne, gold set against deep red, announces itself first through its flame-shaped aureole. The crowned figure bows her serene face slightly, a tiny seated Buddha held above the crown; the principal hands are joined at her chest while dozens of arms radiate behind her, each bearing an implement, interwoven with the pierced flame-and-scroll aureole into one sheet of burning gold. Saturated gold covers figure and halo, with dark red ground showing through the flames, making the whole more ardent and solemn. Below, a tall multi-tiered altar rises in setbacks, its red panels carved in relief with figures, auspicious beasts and flowers, lifting the figure ever higher. It carries its own altar with it: enshrined at a shrine's principal place its presence is complete, and as a collected display it needs no companion piece to be the centre.