The Ruyi Held Across

Viewing notes

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

This wood-toned elder sits in state on a throne, a ruyi sceptre held across his body. His long beard falls over his chest and his lean face is composed; the left hand lifts the sceptre's lingzhi-shaped head beside his shoulder while the right hand supports its shaft in his lap, a line of fine characters running along the handle. The wide robe is densely patterned, a small dragon coils on each knee, and the panel between them carries rows of trigram-like motifs. Behind him a round halo is ringed with dragons beneath an open canopy, phoenixes and auspicious beasts at the sides and flames curling at the edges, and the throne stands on a three-tiered base wrapped in floral scrolls. Warm yellow wood, ample and serene — a piece to hold the principal place of a hall, or to be enshrined where calm authority is wanted.