I have this 4.5-inch carving of a deity, bought in April 2007. The seller specialised in Burmese handicraft, so presumably that’s where the figure was made. He didn’t know who it was, either: at one point he described it as “a dancer”, then later as “a king”. Eventually my mother and I bought it as a gift for someone, though we ended up keeping it.

Some time later, in Singapore, we found an identical statue – this one was larger, about 10 inches tall, and made of either dark-coloured wood or dark-coloured resin resembling wood. The shop assistant said it wasn’t for sale, but identified the figure as Buddhist deity Ksitigarbha:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ksitigarbha

I’m having doubts about this, for some reason... First, because I’ve never seen Ksitigarbha in such a pose anywhere else. Second, the figure is lacking Ksitigarbha’s usual iconography (the monk’s robe, the Khakkhara staff, and the wish-fulfilling pearl). Third, there is only one feature on the carving that resembles Ksitigarbha, and that is the many-pointed monk’s hat (like a crown) that he wears in many portraits. (Check it out on Google Images.)

Does this carving look familiar to anyone?? If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say it was Lord Sakka/Indra/Vajrapani, commonly regarded as King of the Gods and living in the Trayastrimsa Heaven – hence the seller’s identification of the figure as “a king”. He’s wearing princely robes and a crown, after all...

Any thoughts?