Six Arms in Plain White

Viewing notes

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

This standing bodhisattva is white from crown to base, without a touch of colour. A tall crown rises above the smiling, downcast face; the principal pair of hands is joined in prayer at the chest, while four more arms grow behind — one pair lifted overhead with fingertips lightly poised, the other opening outward and downward — six arms gathered like a flower in bloom. Two long ribbons sweep up beside the ears and curl in smooth arcs, then fall the length of the body almost to the feet. The layered skirt carries a large bow at the waist and pleats like running water. Bare feet stand on rolling auspicious clouds. With no colour anywhere, all expression comes from the carving and the light itself — a whiteness clean and quietly at rest. Such plain white asks little of a room: enshrined in a shrine corner it is pure and solemn; placed in a tea room, study or entryway, it is a still centre that rewards long looking.