Seated Buddha with Pagoda

Viewing notes

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

This polychrome Buddha sits in full lotus before a tall, flame-shaped aureole. His curled hair is deep blue with a small red jewel at the topknot; his face is warm gold, eyes lowered in a gentle smile, a swastika at his chest. His left hand rises before him, palm outward, while his right hand rests in his lap cradling a small tiered pagoda that narrows storey by storey. Orange-red robes fall from his shoulders, sprinkled with fine floral sprigs, and the dark teal lower robe is embroidered with round blooms and scrolling vines edged in gold. Behind him the aureole swirls with vermilion flame lines and teal cloud scrolls, rising to a point above a round halo. Below, a two-tiered lotus throne — a pink draped upper tier around a great green-petalled lotus, over spreading red petals — carries the whole composition. Vivid yet perfectly ordered, it suits the principal place in a shrine, or lends any room a bright, solemn centre.