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Gilding
Arts Studio
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The Practice of
making Tsatsa is a form of
traditional Buddhist art that has flourished for centuries in remote
Himalayan Buddhist kingdoms, most notably Tibet. These votive
tablets are traditionally made of clay and generally used as
offerings at shrines, but also given as gifts.
Like many Tibetan sacred objects, they are iconographic forms
representing various meditational deities and Buddhas. The
creation of sacred objects such as tsatsa, statues, and stupas
is a practice that is said to result in great merit and positive energy
for the practitioner as well as the recipient. Tsatsa make wonderful additions to an
altar, mantelpiece or any other clean, respectful location. Most of the pieces in the Tsatsa collection are cast with a mix of gypsum or finely ground stone and various resins, thus maintaining a high quality of detail. Mixing in the ashes of loved ones or other sacred relics are frequently requested in the casting process. Tsatsa can be mounted on brocade or velvet and box-framed and hung on a wall, or placed on an altar, shrine or other suitable place.
The appropriate prayers can be performed ensuring their power to transform an ordinary
room or a special place. |
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Traditionally made Clay Tsatsa from Sera Monastery, Lhasa in Tibet
- Padmasambhava
4 x 4.5 inches /
10 x 12 cms
Gilt metal finish in 22kt Rose gold, 18 kt Green gold, and 12kt White gold
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Life of the Buddha
cast plaster votive tablet gilded with
fine gold,
also white, red and green gold leaf
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Green Tara
Green Tara, a Buddha in female aspect,
represents enlightened activity. She is seated on a lotus, her
right hand in a gesture (mudra) indicating her ability to help
all beings, her left hand in the mudra of refuge. With a warm,
loving gaze she looks upon each sentient being as a mother
regards her only child. She is seated with her left leg drawn in
to symbolize her renunciation of worldly attachments, and her
right leg is extended to come to the aid of those in need.
size 12.5 cm x 18.5 cm
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Manjushri
Fine Goldleaf
size 20 cm x 23.5 cm
Golden orange in color, Manjushri is the
embodiment of infinite wisdom. His double-edged sword cuts
through obscuring layers of misconception and ignorance; the
sutra text he holds (Prajnaparamita, or The Perfection of
Wisdom) on the stem of a lotus flower indicates his penetrating
insight. It
is said that the two most powerful ways of developing wisdom are
to study the profound sutras and to meditate upon Manjushri.
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Medicine Buddhas
Medicine Buddha is the manifestation of the healing energy of
all enlightened beings. His left hand holds a bowl of healing
nectar, and in his right hand he holds the stem of a myrobalan
plant, an important herb used in Tibetan medicine.
14 cm x 16 cm
 Medicine
Buddha
cold cast resin
15 cm tall x 13 cm wide
enlarge +
The Medicine Buddha is depicted sitting on a lotus throne (the
lotus flower is the symbol of purity of mind and of the earth)
in the posture of vajrasana (also known as the Diamond
Position, which was assumed by Buddha Shakyamuni on the last day
before his enlightenment). His right hand is in the gesture of
Vitarka, the gesture of Argument or Debate. Vitarka is a symbol
for intellectual discussion. The circle formed by thumb and
index symbolizes the Wheel of Teaching. The symbolism of the
gesture with the hand pointing down is integration of wisdom and
intellectual.
In his left hand he holds an iron bowl filled with amrita
(divine healing nectar). Multicoloured rays emanating from his
body help banish the three poisons – desire, hatred and envy –
and harmonise the balance between the three humours – wind, bile
and phlegm.
Meditating with a medicine Buddha creates great therapeutic
energy, which is useful for healing oneself and others.
Medicine
Buddha
cast powdered stone
Fine
Gold and Palladium
17 cm tall x 15 cm wide
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Maitreya
Maitreya (Pali: Metteya) is the future Buddha of this world, a
Bodhisattva who will eventually appear on earth, achieve complete
enlightenment, and teach the pure Dharma. Maitreya Bodhisattva will be
the successor of the historic Buddha. He is predicted to be a
“world-ruler”, uniting those over whom he rules.
10 cm |
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49 Medicine Buddha Plaque
Medicine Buddha is the manifestation of the healing energy of
all enlightened beings. His left hand holds a bowl of healing
nectar, and in his right hand he holds the stem of a myrobalan
plant, an important herb used in Tibetan medicine.
16.5 cm x 19 cm
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Dorje Drollo
7 cm x 9 cm
Dorje Drollo is fully wrathful, wielding dorje and phurba,
and dancing on the back of a tigress. The eighth manifestation
of Padmasambhava, he's the ultimate and absolute aspect of crazy
wisdom. He takes the ironic aspect of the world with great
seriousness and he makes irresistible jokes on a vast scale. He
acts with crazy wisdom until the student's mind has nothing left
to hang on to.
The Eight Manifestations of
Guru Rinpoche
1. Padmasambhava: appearing as the one born from
a lotus, totally pure.
2. Gyakar Panchen: displaying the qualities of a
great Indian scholar.
3. Loden Chokse: having an omniscient mind
inseparable from Manjushri.
4. Pema Gyalpo: manifesting as a king
controlling all realms of existence.
5. Nyima Oser: dispelling the darkness of
ignorance.
6. Shakya Senge: appearing as the monk who
became the great liberator of all beings.
7. Senge Dradok: destroying extreme wrong views
and the demonic forces that arise when tantric vows are broken.
8. Dorje Drollo: appearing as the fierce
destroyer of enemies and the obstructions to enlightenment. |
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4 Armed
Chintamani Avalokiteshvara
10 cm x 8 cm
Avalokiteshvara
or Chenrezig (tib.) is the patron deity of Tibet. The Tibetan people
even claim descent from Avalokiteshvara, who in the form of a
monkey, is said to have sired the original inhabitants of the
Roof of the World. Shakyamuni Buddha prophesied that
Avalokiteshvara would subdue its barbarous inhabitants and lead
them along the path to enlightenment. Taking miraculous birth
from a shaft of light from the heart of Amitabha Buddha which
then transformed into a radiant lotus, and it is from within
this lotus that the four armed incarnation of Avalokiteshvara
was discovered.
The four-armed holds a wish-fulfilling gem in his palms, as well
as a rosary and lotus. The thousand-armed also holds a
water-pot, a bow for firing arrows, the wheel of dharma, and the
mudra of bestowing realizations.
Avalokiteshvara has been identified with, among others, King
Songtsen Gampo, Padmasambhava, Dromtonpa (Atisha's disciple),
the Gyalwa Karmapa, and the Dalai Lamas. |
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1000 Armed
Avalokiteshvara
Plaque with Stupas and Medicine Buddhas
15.25 cm x 18.5 cm
On completing a meditation retreat, the Boddhisattva
realized that he had only helped a very small number of beings,
and thus in his disappointment his head split into ten pieces
and his body into a thousand. Amitabha restored the broken body
into a thousand hands, each with its own wisdom eye, and the
shattered pieces of his head into 10 faces, nine of them
peaceful and one wrathful, so that he could look compassionately
in all directions simultaneously. Amitabha was so pleased with
his heart-son Avalokiteshvara that he crowned the ten faces with
a replica of himself.
The thousand-armed holds a wish-fulfilling gem in his palms, a rosary,
a lotus and also a
water-pot, a bow for firing arrows, the wheel of dharma, and the mudra of bestowing realizations.
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1000 Armed
Avalokiteshvara
9 cm x 11 cm
The embodiment of
infinite compassion, white in color, Avalokiteshvara seeks to dispel
the suffering of all beings. With his compassionate gaze,
Avalokiteshvara looks upon beings in all realms of existence with the
wish that they be free of suffering. His mantra is: OM
MANI PADME HUM.
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Manjushri
6 cm x 7 cm
Golden orange in color, Manjushri is the embodiment of
infinite wisdom. His double-edged sword cuts through obscuring
layers of misconception and ignorance; the sutra text he holds (Prajnaparamita,
or The Perfection of Wisdom) on the stem of a lotus flower
indicates his penetrating insight. The mantra for Manjushri is:
OM AH RA PA TSA NA DHI. It is said that the two most powerful
ways of developing wisdom are to study the profound sutras and
to meditate upon Manjushri.
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Other Tsa-tsa |
Green Tara |
White Tara |
Vajrasattva and consort |
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The 35
Buddhas of Confession
The 35 Buddhas made special promises to help
practitioners purify negative imprints in their minds. The large
image at the top is that of Shakyamuni Buddha; the other 34
Buddhas of Confession are below him. At the bottom there are
also the 7 Medicine Buddhas.
size 28 cm x 37 cm
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Mandarava
5.5 cm high
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2023 - all rights reserved.
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