At Ease within the Round Halo

Viewing notes

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

This polychrome bodhisattva sits in royal ease before an enormous complete round halo. One knee is raised with an arm resting loosely across it; the other leg hangs down, the toes lightly touching a small purple lotus — a pose relaxed yet measured. He wears an openwork golden crown with fine beads dangling from it, layer upon layer of necklace at his bare chest, a blue-green printed sash wound over one shoulder, and a red skirt dense with floral roundels and scrolls, its hem curling like a wave over the seat's edge. The halo is a deep blue disc ringed in gold, painted with two flying apsaras scattering blossom, petals drifting down around them. The seat is rock draped with a yellow-green fringed cloth, carried on a gilded square stand. Splendour and ease in a single figure — made for enshrinement, or as the enduring centre of a room.