Eight Arms above the Lotus

Viewing notes

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

This polychrome eight-armed figure sits in full lotus upon an enormous blue-green lotus, and beneath the lotus stands a wholly golden high throne, two small golden lions keeping guard on its front pillars. She wears a flame-patterned crown and her face is serene; the foremost pair of hands is joined at her chest while the other six arms open out to either side in tiers, each holding an implement — the highest pair lifts the discs of the sun and the moon, below them come a golden bell and a treasure sword, and lowest of all a pair of shears and a long halberd held across. Her robes pair orange-red with deep blue in fine dense patterns, and her armlets and necklaces are all gold. The eight arms spread outward like petals, yet the joined palms at the centre draw everything back into quiet. Splendid and orderly at once, the figure is made for the principal seat of a shrine, or as the most striking presence in a room.