This late Qing Buddha is carved from solid wood, with a small opening between the hands that once held a candle. Figures like this sat on household altars and in temple niches, where they were lit and tended as part of daily devotion.
The curls of the ushnisha, the raised crown that marks the Buddha’s enlightenment, are cut in even, symmetrical rows, and the face is calm without being blank. Traces of the original red and blue polychromy remain. The back is carved and painted as well, so he was made to stand free on an altar, not hang against a wall. The painter finished the back properly, even though few worshippers would ever have walked round to see it.
The surface shows the wear you’d expect after more than a century of handling, and the paint has worn back to bare wood in places, which suits a figure that was used rather than kept for best.
Condition notes
Very good antique condition with age-consistent wear and paint loss. No structural damage.
