Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara

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Not casually or by his own whim, in conceiving the image with a thousand hands the artist has kept to the prescribed tradition. As emphasizes the tradition, this statue has conceived forty of the Avalokiteshvara’s thousand arms as his main operative hands, each protecting against a particular trouble and might be specifically invoked for redeeming from it. For a balanced anatomy the artist has bifurcated these forty hands into two units, eight branching amicably from the figure’s main anatomy, and remaining thirty-two, emerging a ring-like from his back. The rest nine hundred sixty hands have been cast like an aureole in the background, exactly in the manner the tradition prescribes, symbolising measureless benevolence and representing skillful means for effecting it. This iconographic placement of two sets of hands, thirty-two and nine hundred sixty, creates two discs, outer being sun-disc that protects from blindness, and the inner, moon-disc that by providing coolness relieves from fever. These hands and wisdom are deeply linked. It is only when the Wisdom Immovable is realised that these hands operate. The Thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara is invoked for granting sway over vast dominions.

Not merely multi-armed, this manifestation of Avalokiteshvara is also multi-faced having twelve faces, nine visible and other three implied, in vertically rising three units of four each, guarding all four directions and the three cosmic zones. Though identically perceived with angular faces, sharp features, small comely lips, large half open eyes, broad foreheads with a common single crown for the unit of four heads, dark thick hair with locks reaching the shoulders, the size of these heads reduces gradually in vertical rise. As mandates the iconographic tradition of the Buddhist iconography, atop the figure of Avalokiteshvara there enshrines the seated image of Buddha in meditation with an icon of Mahakala in his lap. As usual, the Buddha’s image is in red sanghati – large shoulder-cloth, covering both shoulders, and the awe-striking Mahakala with usual third eye and three skulls tied along the forehead. The elegantly bejeweled standing image of Avalokiteshvara is wearing an ‘antariya’, besides a large sash, both reaching the lotus seat and flanking on either side.

Abounding in unique lustre the image of Avalokiteshvara has been installed on a three-tiered golden pedestal, the base and the uppermost consisting of lotus motifs, and the middle, a relatively plain plank structured supported on a pair of lions and a stylized feet-motif in the centre. The base and middle tiers have been conceived in a triangle’s form with broad foreside, and a narrower back. There rises from this narrower side of the pedestal an impressive disc with a temple-tower like apex. This disc has multi-role. A halo revealing divine aura it defines the divinity of the Thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara; it comprise base for the aureole comprising nine hundred sixty arms of the deity; and it represents cosmos with a colourful outer ring with motifs of conch which represent cosmic sound, and flames, red and blue, that represent cosmic fire – red, the fire above, and blue, the oceanic fire, the cosmic energy and the life on the cosmos.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of literature and is the author of numerous books on Indian art and culture. Dr. Daljeet is the curator of the Miniature Painting Gallery, National Museum, New Delhi. They have both collaborated together on a number of books.

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.