Polish

Yes, Steve polishes, but he also IS Polish (Get it? tee-hee). He only looks like he is about to do a tea ceremony. (Though that would be appropriate for a Japanese exhibition!) He is waxing (no waning here) the bases for a pair of gigantic and elaborate bronze figures with gold and silver overlay made by the Meiji period sculpture studio of Miyao Eisuke. The "boys" are a pair mythological Japanese Buddha guardians called Nio or Kongorikishi. The bases themselves are pretty wonderful - dark mahogany with twining floriform brass inlay. Once assembled the "boys" will be nearly 6 feet high. (I know this because I screwed up when I ordered the cargo van for transporting them and only guessed at their height. I can now say with the voice of cruel experience "No, they do not stand up in a cargo van.") They will be the guardians for the gallery entry of the new Treasures of the Chrysanthemum Throne exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Sciences, Daytona Beach. Don't misbehave in that gallery. They both support square lidded boxes with stunning masks on each side. The Museum's front desk staff asked what the boxes were for. I said they were cookie jars (or as Steve added "fortune cookie jars"). I hope that doesn't get back to the docents, but...