Vajrasattva Yab Yum Statue – Buddhist Figure with Filigree

Vajrasattva on a lotus pedestal, in yab yum with his consort. The statue is worked in filigree, gilded and silver-plated, and set with colored stones. Known in Tibetan as Dorje Sempa, he plays a central role in Vajrayana practice as the bodhisattva of purification.

Vajrasattva is seated in padma asana, his consort facing him on his lap. His hands behind her back hold a vajra on the right and the bell, ghanta, on the left. The consort holds a kartika in her right hand and a skull cup, kapala, in her left. Both wear the crown and full ornaments of a bodhisattva. The consort is wearing only her ornaments.

His robe and the lotus pedestal are worked in filigree. Thin wires are shaped into spiral forms, filled with small arched elements, and assembled into a regular ornamental structure. Set stones are integrated into the filigree, together with the wirework, they form floral motifs. The figure is worked all around and suitable for freestanding presentation.

The sculpture follows iconographic conventions of Vajrayana art in the Kathmandu Valley, in which posture, gesture, and ornament are brought together in a balanced composition.

Vajrasattva 

copper statue, traditional lost-wax cast, decorated with fine filigree, gold- and silver-plated, decorated with colored stones. The faces are set in gold. The figure is patinated. Handmade in Nepal.

• Height: 9.5" / 24 cm
• Width: 6.5" / 16.5 cm
• Depth: 4.5" / 11.5 cm
• Weight: 2,192 g

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