Golden Crown, Red Robe

Viewing notes

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

This polychrome seated figure on a lotus throne is red and gold throughout, splendid and solemn. A tall golden crown rises in carved tiers above a band of blue hair at the forehead; the eyes are lowered, the legs folded in full lotus on a golden lotus pedestal, and the hands are joined at the chest in a seal, a small golden object held between the fingers. The great robe is vermilion red, woven all over with golden floral medallions and scrolling stems, its edges trimmed in gold, teal-blue linings showing at the sleeves and a single line of bare chest set against all that pattern. Behind stands a pointed, leaf-shaped aureole in deep red, pierced and carved with scrolling foliage like a flame held still. The lotus petals are full and layered, ringed below by golden cloud heads and a band of coloured flowers. Made for the principal place of a shrine: a blaze of red and gold from afar, fine workmanship in every inch up close.