Two Staffs above the Clouds

Viewing notes

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

This wood-toned group of standing attendants rises in layers. At the centre two principal figures stand side by side: a shaven-headed monk form raising a ringed staff, prayer beads hanging from the other hand, robes falling to the feet; and a crowned figure gripping a staff, one foot set upon a beast's head. A leaf-shaped halo backs each of them, and above their heads small seated figures are stacked beneath a round orb at the top. Clouds surge into a platform below them, a door set into its front and flame scrolls along its lower edge; a lion-like beast crouches at the front left, another beast's head emerging from the clouds at the right. The whole group stands on an octagonal plinth carved with lotus scrollwork and ringed by a railing. Warm wood, dense yet never disordered — a set for the shrine, or a major piece for close study.