16" Dragon Buddha From Nepal

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The dragon king deity of Mahayana Buddhism, also known as Lord Sagara, is a protective or guardian deity. He is one of the twenty-eight guardians of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. As the presiding deity over rain (Sagara translates to ocean, which is where all rainshowers end up), He is the Buddhist equivalent of the Hindu deity, Lord Indra.

The dragon king murti that you see on this page is a gilded copper composition. Copper, which as a medium features heavily in the upper echelons of Nepalese sculptural tradition, is superior to brass and comes with pure metallic gilding such as in this one. It is to be found in the superb bone structure of Sagara’s face and details of His flowing robes.

Peace and serenity predominate the personality of Sagar. Set off by the wrathful dragon face looming over His calm head.

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Item Code:	MIU125
Specifications:	Copper Gilded with Gold
Height:	16 inch
Width:	6 inch
Depth:	5 inch
Weight:	3.30 kg

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100% Made in India

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Nepalese Copper sculptures – Their Care and maintenance

Nepalese sculptures are well-known throughout the globe for their distinctive features. The artists of Nepal specialize in making small religious figures, especially Buddhist and Hindu, and ritual objects in copper or bronze alloy. The characteristic features of sculptures of Nepal are elongated and languid eyes, exaggerated physical postures, round facial features, and sensuous youthful bodies. All these features exhibit a high level of skill and exquisite beauty that draw their influence from the artistic style of the Gupta and Pala Empires from ancient India. Nepali sculptures are especially appreciated for perfectly portraying the spiritual cultures of Buddhism and Hinduism.

Maintenance of copper statues

Since Nepali statues and sculptures are gold-gilded and are also sometimes inlaid with semi-precious or precious stones, using any chemical solutions will damage their beautification.
To retain the natural shine and luster of a copper sculpture, it is necessary to dust the piece periodically. This helps prevent the accumulation of dust on the surface that covers their actual beauty. You can usually safely dust it with a soft cloth or cotton ball with the barest amount of cool water. No amount of water should be left off after cleaning.
You can also use natural oils such as coconut oil and wipe down every inch of the sculpture with a cotton ball. After applying it, you will notice a beautiful natural shine on the sculpture. This also prevents it from getting tarnished very quickly. You should avoid using any special cleansers that aren’t meant to be used on copper statues.

The ancient artists of Nepal preferred to use copper more than any other material due to its amazing properties. It is a soft and malleable metal that makes it suitable for molding into any desired shape or form. A sculpture requires a structure with realistic intricate details and copper is an appropriate material for this purpose. Although copper sculptures do not need much care and maintenance, you should not question the need of cleaning them carefully.

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.