Miniature Carved Four-Faced Buddha Head

A tiny hand-carved wooden head, small enough to pinch between two fingers, with a different face on each side. One laughs with its mouth wide open, one grins broadly, one smiles serenely and one frowns in sorrow. Each has deeply carved brows, plump cheeks and long earlobes, all flowing into one smooth, rounded crown. The warm honey-coloured wood is most likely boxwood and has a soft, polished glow. It's a delightful pocket-sized curio for a desk, a shelf of miniatures or a meditation corner, and you can turn it to suit your mood.

Carvings like this are often known in Chinese as "xi nu ai le", the four emotions of joy, anger, sorrow and happiness. They're a reminder that every life holds all four. The idea is linked to the Four-Faced Buddha, whose faces are sometimes said to stand for a person's career, wealth, love and health. His four faces and eight ears are said to let him see in every direction and hear every prayer.