Private Collection
This is a richly gilt and lacquered wood statue of King of the Under-world is carved in strict observation with the Chinese Buddhist tradition. The Buddha Ti-tsang sits in meditation on a lotus shrine, in front of a large mandorla guarded by two dragons. Near the top of the mandorla, the calligraphic character "Buddha", which is now faded away with the passing of time. The Ti-tsang statue appearers that it has been consecrated with a ritual blessing. There is a certain ritual offering embedded in the statue, to which a small package is visibly tied togethers with clothes and colored strings. Since we would not attempted to remove this item, we can only assume that it is likely a Taoist or Buddhist inscription of prayer. The statue is very light, it is believed to be hallowed out for purpose of preventing wood cracks.