Crowned Figure with a Ruyi Branch

Viewing notes

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

This standing crowned figure in full gold rises on a hexagonal lotus pedestal before a pointed-arch aureole of dragons. The bodhisattva wears a tall crown and a lowered, quiet gaze; her left hand cradles a curved branch-like ruyi at her chest, while the right hand hangs down loosely holding her sash. Drapery falls the whole length of the body in smooth flow, and beaded ornaments layer across her chest. The aureole is worked in pierced relief completely covered with winding dragons, their scales and whiskers carved alive, touches of blue-green in their manes, over a layer of vermilion red that sets the golden figure into still sharper relief. The square base below the lotus is carved with scrolling vines and beast faces. Slender and dignified, she suits the side position of a shrine with perfect propriety, and in a high-ceilinged space the dragon aureole itself is a carving worth lingering over.