Ceramic Meditating Monk

Three things arrive, not one.

The figure, a woven rattan mat for it to sit on, and a mala. Most ceramic monks are sold as a figure and nothing else, and the difference shows the moment you unpack it. The mat gives the piece somewhere to be instead of just a spot on a shelf, and the mala is a real strand of wooden beads with turquoise and amber-toned spacers, so it can stay draped over the figure or come off and be used.

Composed, still, entirely unsentimental, and a long way from the round-cheeked novice most desk pieces settle for. This is the one for somebody who actually sits.

Two poses to choose from. Hands together at the chest is anjali, the gesture of respect. Hands resting one inside the other in the lap is dhyana, the meditation mudra, and it is the posture of somebody who has already gone quiet.

The clay is left matte and fine grained, speckled through the body rather than coated, so it reads as stone in the hand and never as a glossy ornament.

For a desk you sit at every day, or a corner you are trying to turn into somewhere you sit.

Where to place a meditating monk statue

Entryway, living room, desk or meditation corner. Ceramic chips, so keep it back from the edge of a surface, and a soft cloth is all the cleaning it needs.

Feng shui sorts materials into five elements and gives each one a job. Ceramic belongs to earth, the stabilising one, which is why a piece like this is placed in an entrance or a living room for steadiness rather than for luck or wealth. A quieter ambition than most feng shui objects carry.