Dragon Throne with Tablet

Viewing notes

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

This polychrome deity figure, red and gold throughout, carries an unmistakable air of command. The face is gilt, the beard long and black, the brows thick over glaring eyes; a jewelled crown is clustered with red pom-poms and pearls, two yellow tassels hanging by the ears. Both hands are folded at the chest around a red-and-gold court tablet. The robe is imperial yellow, covered with dragons among clouds and a sea-and-cliff pattern at the hem, a blue gold-dotted panel falling before the knees, white sleeves emerging from the wide robe. The seat is no ordinary base but a throne of vermilion red carved with dragons from top to bottom: a towering backrest wound with coiling dragons, armrests shaped as dragon heads, and a plinth dense with scrolling florals, red lacquer picked out in gold. Stern without a trace of softness, it is made to hold the central place of a shrine, or to anchor a room from its principal seat.