Crowned, Hands Joined in Gold

Viewing notes

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

This fully golden seated figure wears a treasure crown before a pointed-arch aureole. On the crown, small Buddhas sit in a row and ribbons fall beside the ears; a fan-shaped halo radiates behind the head. Eyes lowered, the figure sits in full lotus on a double lotus pedestal, a swastika at the chest, both hands gently clasped before it as if holding some small thing between the fingers — an air of quiet concentration. Behind, the aureole rises to its point: an outer border dense with small flames, and within, carved auspicious treasures and cloud scrolls. Beneath the throne stands an octagonal altar base — railings, beaded pillars and carved panels lifting the figure tier by tier, a small altar-furniture world of its own. The gold is mellow and even, splendid without ostentation, made to be enshrined at a shrine's main position or to hold the centre of a room.