JOYFUL ABUNDANCE

This delightful suite sets an irresistible mood of joy and refinement, including a laughing Buddha statue on a blackened metal stand and a glazed urn.

The Buddha figure was handmade in hardened sand on the island of Java in Indonesia, depicting a Chinese monk called Budai, believed to have lived around the 10th century in the Wuyue kingdom. Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have lived in the Indonesian archipelago since at least the 13th century.

Budai’s happy nature, humorous personality and eccentric lifestyle makes him different from most Buddhist masters. For this reason the Chinese calls him the Laughing Buddha. Many stories center around his love of food and drink, which is why he’s also referred to as Fat Buddha. He’s traditionally depicted as a chubby, bald monk wearing a simple robe and carrying his few possessions in a cloth sack, being poor but happy. His figure appears throughout Chinese culture as a symbol of both contentment and abundance. Budai attracted people all around him, predicting their fortunes and the weather. He often went to sleep anywhere he could, also outside, since his mystical powers could fight off the cold and his body was left unaffected.

The elegant urn is made in terracotta by local artisans on the island of Borneo in Indonesia, with a gazed finishing created with natural pigments applied with a very old technique. In Borneo, the art of pottery making has been a tradition since antiquity, for beauty, trade and daily life. Urns with a delicate decor, color and finishing like this were amongst the more exclusive and higher priced pieces of pottery on the island, with multiple uses like storing food, objects or natural substances. Terracotta means baked earth and has been used by mankind for thousands of years, across all the worlds continents, for its versatility and strength.

The suite comes with the stories of the Budai and urn printed out for you inside a beautiful envelope. Being artisan crafted with organic materials each piece is slightly different containing beautiful, natural imperfections. Books not included. 

DIMENSIONS INCLUDING THE BLACKENED METAL SUPPORT:

• Budai: ca 30 x 16 x 12cm
• The glazed urn: ca 33cm diameter x 22cm heigh