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3.5 Feet Large Green Tara From Nepal

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$8820

“Through the magic of Lokeshvara’s compassion,

The three times Buddhas’ wisdom, love and power

Appear in the lovely form of the Goddess of Action,

Who saves us all from want- at Tara’s feet I bow!”

A beautiful hymn, composed by the first Dalai Lama (1391-1474), these lines capture the essence of Green Tara in Tibetan and Nepalese Buddhism.

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Item Code:	CAA220
Specifications:	Copper With Gold
Height:	40 inch
Width:	26 inch
Depth:	23 inch
Weight:	50 kg

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Born from the compassionate tears of Avalokiteshvara, the green manifestation of the Buddhist divinity is associated with Bodhisattva Amoghasiddhi. Green Tara in the Himalayan Buddhist tradition is also connected to Bhrikuti, the Nepalese wife of Tibet’s renowned king Songtsen Gambo. In this large gilded copper statue of Green Tara, she appears as an exquisite maiden, sitting in a variation of the regal Lalitasana posture on a lovely lotus pedestal. Tara’s left hand is raised in the “Vitarka” mudra or the gesture of intellectual discussion, and her right hand is open, its fingers pointed downwards, in the gesture of giving boons. Buddhists while meditating upon this form of the Green Tara visualize various precious gems and gifts coming forth from her hand.

The ornamentation of this Nepalese Green Tara statue is queenly, with a five-pronged crown on her head, a gorgeous ethnic necklace in silver with red and turquoise stone adorning her ethereal green form. Her luscious tresses delineated with fine incised lines are knotted in a lovely hairdo which can be appreciated on the reverse of the statue. Green Tara’s lavish lower body garment is patterned with floral vines and its silver coat mimics the aesthetic effect of the metal inlay crafts. A delicate scarf matching her garment knotted on her torso flows artistically, forming delightful waves on her sides. Two fully blossomed lotuses- one blue and the other red along with their leaves are held in her hands with their faces towards us.

A small lotus attached to the pedestal acts as the footrest for the goddess in this Nepalese Green Tara statue. Her leg folded on the platform denotes Green Tara’s meditative state while the foot extending outside her throne signifies her readiness to rush and salvage the humans. Together, these elements of the Green Tara statue symbolize the union of wisdom and art known as “Prajnyopayadvaya”.

How are Nepalese copper statues made?

Nepalese statues and sculptures are best known for their unique small religious figures and ritual paraphernalia for over two thousand years. These are mainly cast in copper alloy. Nepal draws influences from the artistic styles of Buddhism and Hinduism, and therefore the sculptors of the country specialize in making the icons of both these religions. Over the years, Nepalese sculptures evolved into their own distinctive iconography. Some characteristic features of these sculptures that differ from other pieces are exaggerated physical postures, youthful and sensual features, languid eyes, wider faces having serene expressions, and ornate flourishes. The Buddhist deity icons of Nepal have tremendous demand in countries such as China and Tibet for ritual purposes in their temples and monasteries.

Nepalese statues and sculptures have a high copper content and therefore develop a slightly reddish patina on the surface as they age. However, the most unique feature of Nepalese copper statues is their decorative detailing. The pieces are heavily gilded and sometimes inlaid with semi-precious stones. This embellishment protects them from getting tarnished. The traditional lost-wax method for casting Nepalese copper statues remains the most practiced technique in Nepal for many centuries. This process involves many steps and requires skilled artists.

The first step in lost-wax sculpting is to make a wax replica of the desired Buddhist deity to be cast in copper. This replica is created by hand and therefore needs excellent artistic skills otherwise fine features will be lacking.

Once the wax replica is made, it is then coated with a special mixture of clay with a brush. This layer of clay is hardened when left to dry. A small hole is made on the base of the wax mould so that the wax flows away when it is heated.

At this stage, a hollow mould in the shape of the deity is obtained.

This is the time to pour liquid copper into the hollow mould which is then allowed to cool and harden inside a container of cold water. When the liquid metal has hardened, the mould is removed and the statue within is revealed.

The artist works on the details of the statue using various tools. It is then polished to get a shiny and lustrous surface.

Now comes the most important part of Nepalese art which is gold gilding. This is done by the traditional fire gilding method. A mixture of mercury and 18K gold is applied on the surface of the statue and heat is applied using a flame torch. The result is that mercury evaporates along with impurities, leaving a pure 24K gold finish.

The lost-wax method of sculpting is the most preferred technique

for artists to cast a metallic statue having intricate details. Since Nepalese copper sculptures require extraneous effort for giving a majestic look by adding special embellishments, it takes several weeks to complete one masterpiece. A 24K gold gilded copper sculpture retains its brilliant luster for many years and appears as like before. Nepalese sculptures continue to remain one of the finest specimens of the art of the East that have a strong aesthetic appeal that other sculptures cannot match.