Orb in Flaming Light

Viewing notes

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

This is a golden seated Buddha in full lotus posture. His dark curled hair is topped with a gold jewel; eyes lowered, he sits upon a towering tiered golden lotus throne, both hands resting in his lap in the meditation seal, cradling a round golden orb, a swastika marked clearly at his chest. The robe is not plain gold but richly patterned polychrome — reds and oranges flecked with teal — falling over the shoulders and knees like brocade. Behind him rises a great gilded aureole edged with layered flames, its inner field alive with winding dragons, rolling clouds and scattered coloured inlays. The pedestal builds up in tiers of lotus petals, scrollwork and beading, with beast-heads at its corners. Enshrined at the principal position of a shrine, it fills the room with golden gravity; placed as the centrepiece of a space, it commands the whole setting.