This is an ancient Chinese wood carving relief board, usually as a building component or part of furniture decoration, depicting a character story scene. This type of wood carving board is usually used to decorate the doors and windows of traditional Chinese buildings, screens, under the eaves, or inlaid on large furniture (such as sleeping beds and desk tables). The central area of the relief board depicts an interior scene that appears to be a family gathering, a trial, or a theatrical scene. Some sit in high positions, others bow down or stand, and there are other characters around watching. Such carvings are usually based on traditional historical stories and literary classics (such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Twenty-four Filial Piety).

The carvings at the Sanctuary Site on the Big Island of Hawaii represent the figures of Akua (God) K ā ne (Kiei) and Kanaloa (H ā l ō), two of the four main Akua in the Hawaiian Pantheon. Throughout Polynesia, K ā ne and Kanaloa are considered gods of creation and life.