OK, I've been told this REALLY is Chin's (Zichar) last post! 



"Mostly shots in the dark internals of the temple, high ISO

A lantern hanging above, found the pattern to be intricate and beautiful, and thought it would make a great shadow cut-out with a high enough shutter speed. The security guard was standing right beside me, and he gave me the 'That's what you're taking a photograph of? Are you nuts?' look. I get that a lot... 

One of the reasons why I was lolth to share these was because I can't for the life of me remember what the exhibits were. And the completionist in me knows that the photos are missing a couple of tags.

In my haste, I didn't take down (or much simpler, take a photo doh) the details of the statues...

While the new stuff were nice, I've always had an affinity for older statues, especially religion steeped with age?

And the temple had an entire floor dedicated to old statues and relics donated by sister temples, wealthy benefactors (or purchased at international auctions), most in five figure sums.

It was fascinating to me, as each piece would reflect the different cultures (and depiction of Buddha) as Buddhism spread throughout Asia. The types of materials used, for e.g. aged sandalwood, petrified wood, granite, marble, or the amazing patina of aged bronze and verdigris of copper.

So I begin again with the large wooden Buddha statue... 

And another of a guardian deity? For surely they must be when they are sculpted with such fierce demeanor.

This I remember somewhat because the name was unique and rolled off my tongue easily

Yamantaka, the Terminator of Death
Ominous isn't it?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamantaka 

And another, of which I vaguely remember an interesting story behind

Something about treasures being stolen (scriptures?) by demons

And this military hero chasing them till the ends of the earth to retrieve them

Retrieve them he did and thus revered as a saint for his dedication to the cause

Or something to that effect... ahem

Depicted as a Chinese-style Tang dynasty general, carved out of a single block of granite but left in an unfinished style (like he's popping out of the stone)

Another depiction of Buddha (not sure which) by Myanmar/Burmese artists. In a contemplative pose sitting down, the statue was almost life-size. The face to me has a je ne sais quoi appeal, like the Mona Lisa smile.

And last, a largish piece that caught my eye ... because I thought it may look good as a pano crop and desktop wallpaper. The halo is particularly inspired, kudos to the sculptor. If I'm not mistaken, this should be a depiction of Avalokitesvara or Guan Yin."