33" Superfine Large Copper with Gold Shakyamuni Buddha Idol from Nepal

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Sitting on a refined golden lotus throne whose petals are skillfully sculpted and embellished with tiny turquoise and coral stones, this Nepalese copper with gold Buddha is emanating the brilliance of the Enlightened One. The life event alluded to earlier is one from before the Buddha achieved Nirvana when he was sitting under the Bodhi Tree at Bodha Gaya. The Shakya prince had been in deep meditation for a long time and had braved many obstacles that stood between him and the supreme knowledge.

Seeing the growing aura of the Buddha, Mara, the demon of basal desires was irked and with his notorious army, he attacked the Tathagata who was quietly immersed in dhyana (meditation). All the efforts of Mara to disrupt the Buddha’s dhyana were wasted and even under the devious attacks of his army, Buddha remained as still as the vast ocean. Seeing him so, Mara who was enraged beyond a limit, challenged the Buddha to display his abilities, to give proof of his achievement of enlightened wisdom. Empowered by the divine strength of Bodhi (supreme wisdom), the Buddha in the response to Mara’s challenge opened his eyes and gently touched the Earth.

Behold! The earth trembled with a roaring sound and the goddess of earth, Vasudhara herself materialized to proclaim the glory of the Enlightened One. In this manner, the Buddha not only answered the vicious attacks of Mara with a godly calmness but also used the adverse situation as a chance to let the whole world know of his attainment of Nirvana. In this gilded copper Buddha statue, the moment when he touched the earth is recalled, and with what magnificence!

The Buddha is in the Padmasana (the lotus posture), his left hand placed in his lap in the dhyana mudra (gesture of meditation). The characteristic features of the Buddha- his symmetrically coiled hair, half-opened eyes, sharp nose, elongated earlobes, soft lips, three auspicious lines on the neck, and a refined physique are all delineated with a perfected mastery in this Nepalese Buddha statue. The glazing of gold on the countenance of the Buddha has introduced an other-worldly radiance to the copper icon.

A splendid golden robe adorned with floral patterns and bordered by fine flowing vegetation clings closely to the celestial body of the Buddha with such finesse that upon closer observation, you can see a soft wavy incised line on the torso of the gilded copper Buddha statue, marking the flesh folds present on the belly. The endpiece of the robes falls over the left shoulder of the Buddha and is beautified with a floral motif and turquoise and coral stones.

The enthroned Buddha in Bhumi-sparsha (earth-touching) mudra comes with a removable aureole which is strikingly designed with a mastered hammering of the gold plate to reveal lovely motifs on the golden aura of Tathagata. Brimming with the aura of the Enlightened Wisdom, this Nepalese Buddha in earth-touching posture is a visual recording of the Buddha’s message to his followers- to always remain on the path to Nirvana and never let the chaos outside disturb the stillness within.

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.