Dehua Porcelain Ksitigarbha on a Tiered Lotus

The lotus is the architecture of this Ksitigarbha sculpture. Broad lower petals, a raised central platform and a second ring beneath the seated figure build the composition upward before the staff completes its vertical line. The result has more presence than a low lotus base, even before scale is considered.

The figure retains Ksitigarbha's familiar monastic attributes: the monk's staff and luminous jewel. Here, however, the tiered pedestal determines how the work is seen. From the front it creates symmetry; from the side, the projecting petals and stepped profile become more apparent.

Ksitigarbha's great vow is associated with remaining beside beings in the hardest states of existence until suffering is exhausted. For devotees, he carries meanings of protection, remembrance, filial devotion and perseverance through grief. The rising lotus gives that vow a visual direction: purity and awakening are shown not as escape from hardship, but as an ascent through it.

This is the version to choose when the pedestal should carry as much presence as the figure. Red Glazed Lotus anchors the composition in auspicious color, Gold Traced Polychrome clarifies every tier and robe line, and Pure White turns the entire structure into a study of shadow. Three heights range from 33.5 to 46.5 cm.

• Origin: Dehua, Fujian, China
• Material: Glazed Dehua porcelain with a separate gold-toned monk's staff
• Figure: Seated Ksitigarbha with staff, flaming jewel and tiered lotus pedestal
• Finishes: Red Glazed Lotus; Gold Traced Polychrome; Pure White
• 33.5 cm size: 33.5 cm H × 15.5 cm W × 16.0 cm D / 13.2 in H × 6.1 in W × 6.3 in D
• 36 cm size: 36.0 cm H × 19.0 cm W × 16.0 cm D / 14.2 in H × 7.5 in W × 6.3 in D
• 46.5 cm size: 46.5 cm H × 27.0 cm W × 21.0 cm D / 18.3 in H × 10.6 in W × 8.3 in D
• Dimensions are hand measured; slight variation is expected