Buddha's Hand

If you’re not from Asia, then maybe you have never seen this special fruit called “Buddha’s hand”.

It’s a citrus fruit with long fingers. It may be given as a religious offering in a Buddhist temple, or as a New Year’s gift. According to tradition, for an offering the fingers of the fruit should be in a closed position, not an open position, because the closed hand symbolises the act of prayer.

In China, the fruit is a symbol of happiness, longevity and good fortune.

Here are some fun facts!

All citrus fruit are originally from China. In the 8-10th centuries, Arab traders imported citrus fruit from China and then made hybrids, which spread from there. So you could say China is Orange Zero! (And also Patient Zero, but let’s not talk about that. Haha.)

You can eat the Buddha’s hand, by the way, but it doesn’t taste of much, and it doesn’t have a lot of juice or meat. If not used for religious or decorative purposes, it’s used as a source of perfume oil.

Another fun fact: this painting started with a mistranslation. I was reading a book on perfume essences, and the book was talking about bergamot, but it was mistranslated as Buddha’s hand into Chinese. By the time I figured it out, I already had decided to make a painting – and if I have decided something, I’m very determined. So I had to do it!

I studied statues of Buddha, and then made a minimalist version of the buddha’s clothes, observing how the lines in the clothing fall. Instead of the hand, I painted the fruit, in prayer pose.

May it bring longevity and good fortune to your home!

Something a bit old, but the ideas are still new