Sahasrabhuja Lokeshvara is the cosmic, thousand-armed form of Avalokiteshvara and one of the most complex representations in Himalayan Buddhist art. This work brings together a traditional figure proportion with a carefully articulated surface design.
The central figure shows Avalokiteshvara in a standing posture on a double lotus base. He wears the crown and full ornaments of a bodhisattva. His eleven heads are arranged vertically: nine peaceful faces form the lower tier, above them rises a wrathful face, and at the top sits the head of the Tathagata Amitabha. The front pair of hands is held together at the chest and encloses the jewel; further hands hold a rosary, a lotus, the Wheel of the Teaching, and bow and arrow, while two hands display charitable mudras. The many lateral arms are arranged in two semicircles, each hand bearing an eye in its palm, a characteristic feature of this Lokeshvara form. Behind the central figure unfolds a finely crafted background with stylized hands, characteristic of the iconography of the thousand-armed Lokeshvara.
The garment, pedestal, and throne are decorated with fine filigree. The silver-plated filigree of the garment, accented with small turquoise inlays, stands in a finely balanced relationship to the gilded figure and the gold-painted faces. The three-tiered throne shows continuous filigree bands; spiraled wires are filled with small elements and arranged into floral patterns. A small banner (pataka) ornaments the front and visually connects the tiers. The background is made of worked copper sheet, decorated with repoussé shell motifs and painted; a band of set stones runs along the outer edge. The filigree surface structures and the coloured inlays are integral to the traditional workmanship of this Lokeshvara form.
Shanta Shakya is an artist from Patan, trained in the filigree technique and working within the tradition of Nepalese metal sculpture. He places particular emphasis on proportion, expression, and refined ornamental structures. For this piece he chose a garment fully decorated with filigree and a correspondingly worked pedestal to highlight the linear qualities of the filigree work.
Statue made of copper, traditionally cast using the lost-wax method, decorated with fine filigree ornaments, silvered and gilded, accented with colored stones. The faces are finished in gold. The background is made of copper sheet, decorated with repoussé and chasing, small shell motifs, painted with acrylic. The figure stands on a double lotus base on a three-tiered rectangular throne.
The statue consists of three parts that are assembled: the rectangular base, the main figure, and the background.
Yala Craft by Shanta is an Asian company based in Germany. I sell my traditional Buddhist sculpture art, created in my own workshop in Nepal.