The Guardian with Joined Palms

Viewing notes

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

This standing guardian in a warm wood tone joins his palms over full armour. A small pagoda crowns his diadem, and behind his shoulders two broad ribbons loop into great rings, like two curves of wind held still. His palms are pressed together at his chest, a long ritual implement laid horizontally beneath them. The armour is dense with scales; at the centre of the breastplate glares a beast-face motif, the skirt of armour opens in layers at the waist, and a fish-scale guard hangs to his knees. His feet stand firmly on a row of plump, gourd-like fruits, above a rectangular plinth carved with entwined floral scrolls. In its honeyed wood tone, the tight density of the armour plates plays against the loose sweep of the ribbons, while the face above the joined palms stays composed and grave, without a trace of show. Set it in an entrance hall, at the side of a shrine, or by a doorway — it holds the ground and keeps the order of a place.