Triad on the Lotus Throne

Viewing notes

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

This is a triad in gold enlivened by red — one principal figure and two attendants sharing a single long base. The central bodhisattva, crowned, sits in full lotus on a double lotus throne with hands folded in her lap; beyond the round head-halo rises a gourd-shaped aureole covered entirely with winding dragons in openwork, a dragon's head peering down from its top. The attendant on the left wears her hair in high double buns and holds a small pearl in both hands, her sash looping into a ring behind her shoulders; the attendant on the right stands with palms joined, ribbons swirling. The gold is rich and full, hems and sashes picked out in vermilion, and each attendant stands on a small cloud-patterned pedestal. With its clear hierarchy and story, enshrined it makes a complete small altar, and displayed in a room it reads like a graceful little stage scene, frozen mid-moment.