Flames Above the Lotus

Viewing notes

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

This polychrome bodhisattva sits in full lotus on a broad lotus throne, hands folded in meditation in the lap, eyes lowered in perfect calm. A jewelled crown holds a small image at its centre; gauze sashes cross the shoulders, chains of beads set with turquoise-green stones run from neck to knees, and a vermilion skirt is bound with golden bead strands. Behind rises a tall golden aureole carved with paired dragons, ringed edge to edge with orange-red flames and crowned by a dragon's head. Below, waves roll across the base where a saddled golden lion lies at rest; on clouds at either side stand two attendants — one bearing an offering, the other a child with palms joined, ribbons looping behind. Flame, lotus and sea in a single frame — radiant yet serene, made to be enshrined as the heart of a shrine or to give a room its luminous focus.