Originally Posted by D

I'm thinking the carpet hides a lead plate, and he's sitting on a small platform... probably hidden to casual on-lookers, and the bamboo has a steel rod going up its center that connects the two.

Provided the lead plate covers a decent amount of surface area, and is heavy enough, I'm sure it's support his weight just fine.

But then, that's the physicist in me speaking... in truth, I have no fucking clue.