Padmasambhava Statue (Guru Rinpoche) – Buddhist Sculpture with Filigree

Padmasambhava, known as Guru Rinpoche, is regarded as one of the central figures of tantric Buddhism. In the 8th century, he was invited to Tibet, where he played a decisive role in the establishment and transmission of the Buddhist teachings.

The statue shows Padmasambhava seated on a lotus pedestal. In his right hand he holds a vajra; the left hand rests in his lap and carries a skull cup, patra, with an inserted vase. His staff, the khatvanga, is held close to the left shoulder. Padmasambhava wears the royal robe and the characteristic folded hat that belong to his iconographic attributes.

His robe and pedestal are worked with filigree and accented with colored stones. The ornamentation consists of finely guided structures that extend evenly across the surfaces. Spiral forms, filled with small curved elements arrange into a pattern. The filigree structures follow the folds of the garment, giving the mantle a brocade-like appearance. The decoration is executed all around, allowing the figure to be presented freestanding.

The sculpture follows the image traditions of Vajrayana art in the Kathmandu Valley, in which ritual identity, gesture, and ornament are brought together into a balanced iconographic unity.

Padmasambhava

copper statue, traditional lost-wax cast, decorated with fine filigree, gold- and silver-plated, set with colored stones. The sculpture is patinated. The face is set in gold. Handcrafted in Nepal.

• Height: 15" / 38 cm 
• Width: 9.5" / 24 cm 
• Depth: 7.5" / 19 cm 
• Weight: 4.678 g

NOTE
The facel painting is a cold gold application and water-soluble.