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Shakyamuni Buddha Copper Statues

Shakyamuni Buddha Copper Statues are made using unique technique called "Lost Wax Method". Copper Shakyamuni Buddha Statues have beautiful look and come with a great quality. The copper statues of Shakyamuni Buddha are appreciated by all over the world for their quality and fineness. Shakyamuni Buddha Statues are found in Brass or Bronze or Silver.

The contribution of the Newar metal sculptors of the Kathmandu valley to the Himalayan art traditions has been long-lasting and profound. For centuries these artists have been the acknowledged masters of their trade, and even today they create many of the images used in worship by Buddhist communities throughout the world. From the earliest metal sculptures we know until the present time, Nepalese metal sculpture has continued without a break in the Newar heartland of the Kathmandu valley. The patrons were likely to be either royal or members of the richer elements of the diverse and energetic Newar society. It would seem that in previous times, as today, the Nepalese metal sculptors were taken from the ranks of the Buddhist elite or priesthood, in particular the Sakyas of a few Buddhist bahals of Patan. It is likely that they provided fine metal icons for Bauddha and Saiva alike, for we have no indication that any Hindu group practiced this craft.

Metal art in Nepal has been dated back to the seventh century AD. Metal crafts have a very old history in Nepal and thus avere very well developed. Kathmandu Valley's prosperity in many ways is linked to its early mastery over metal. There are different 5th century coins, 7th to 15th century statues, etc displayed in different museums and temples, which gives testimony to the fact that it has been a part of Nepali way of life for a long time. The Newars used the unique lost was metal sculpting process early on. They also had the technology to attain heat levels that could melt gold: this earned them great fame and money in the HImalayan region, particularly Tibet. Family secrets, guarded with much jealousy in the past, are now more easily accessible and this has helped many aspiring artisans who do not secrets. Bronze was initially used to make most statues but copper has replaced it in terms of popular use among artisans. The locations well known for hand-worked metal art is Okubahal, Patan. The different forms of this craft are still produced by age-old methods in different parts of Nepal.

Traditional handicrafts is entirely based on the mobilization of local resources, skills and labor. Thus, it is one of Nepal's most important industries as it has a wide international market. The great skills, passed on from generation to generation, allow the craftsmen to produce the finest hand crafted goods. The tools used for making these goods and the designs are often unaltered in spite of the advent of new technologies. The different forms of craftsmanship are deeply rooted in Nepali society and culture. These articles displaying exotic craftsmanship are divided into-the articles of daily use, are produced in bulk and of uniform quality, and the articles of aesthetic value, are most influenced by the Buddhist iconography. The metal craft products include metal images of popular motifs

shakyamuni_buddha_copper_statues

Buddhism and Hinduism and utilities utensils. Almost every metal statues or metal utilities utensils are produced with the lost wax method of casting.

LOST WAX CASTING OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA STATUE ::

As the name suggests, the principal rule of this method of casting is: preparing a wax model, covering it with varieties of clay, heating the piece so that the wax melts, extracting the liquid wax so that cavity is created, pouring melted metal into the cavity, and letting it to cool so that the original wax model is translated into the metal image of Shakyamuni Buddha. But, unlike the simplicity of the rule, getting a perfect cast is a very complicated job. A lot of care is needed for preparing raw wax to the final stage of gilding. Roughly, the whole process of metal statues or utilities utensils are described below

  • INITIAL WAX CASTING

The bee wax is melted in a pot and shale powder is mixed with the bee wax so as to make it more tensile. The wax is molded into a rough shape of Shakyamuni Buddha by hand and all the parts of a body, ornaments, etc. are gradually added. Thus, finally a wax model of the image is ready.

  • COVER THE WAX MOLD WITH MUD

    The wax mold of Shakyamuni Buddha so created is first dipped into a mixture of fine clay, rice bran and cow dung. Then the piece is dried in some airy space where there is no direct sunlight. The same process is repeated again. Then a paste of another type of fine clay, rice bran and cow dung is pasted onto the mold. Depending upon the size of the image, this process is repeated (after dried) two to three times.

  • THE LOST WAX PROCESS

    The mold, covered with layers of mud, is heated under weak heat so that the wax inside melts. The melted wax is extracted through a hole. Thus a hollow space is formed inside.

  • POURING OF MELTED COPPER

    Melted copper metal is poured into the cavity created by the lost wax process and when it is cooled off, a metal of Shakyamuni Buddha image is created.

  • ENGRAVING

    The metal image of Shakyamuni Buddha created out of the casting is very rough. The surface has to be made smooth; chiseling is to be done to bring precision. This complicated job requires an artistic conception, proper technology, an engineer's perfection and the skillful hands of a craftsman. The art and skills is transferred hereditary and artisans follow the age-old designs and production technology.

  • GILDING
When the image is ready, gold or silver is gilded onto it. Mercury and pieces of gold/silver are mixed in such a proportion that the gold or silver is ready for gilding.

In this way a wonderful Shakyamuni Buddha Copper Statue is created. Every Copper Statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, Maitreya Buddha, Medicine Buddha, Avalokiteshvara, Green Tara, White Tara, Padmasambhava, Chenrezig, Saraswati, and every brass pana (lamp) that you see today has been created following the same Lost Wax Casting method. Today products like paper knife, spoon and forks, with traditional designs, etc. are made using same technique.

The craftspeople of Patan and Bhaktapur have preserved the art of making statues, metals pots, lamps and other items, be they sacred or secular, over hundreds of years by passing the techniques on from one generation to the next. Today, many of the younger ones have forsaken these traditions and opted for more modern jobs. But lately there is distinct feel of renaissance in the air.

The main Workshops of Fabulous Handicrafts Centre are at Okubahal, the old metal working area of Patan, They turns out the most exquisite copper statues, some which take up to three years to complete. In the time-hounoured fashion, three craftspeople work on each piece, no matter how small - one to model the wax, cover it with clay and finally to pour the molten copper into the clay mould, another to etch details and finally a person to paint the face and body.

 

A statue or painting of a Buddha is called "Buddharupa" in Sanskrit which means "The Form of An Enlightened One". Buddhist have used such images for thousands of years to show how the Truth can be found within oneself through the practice of meditation and spiritual tanning. Thus, a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha does more than commemorate an historical figure; it is a reminder of the spiritual potential inherent within all of us to awaken to the Truth.

Buddhist usually place figures of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas on their altars. Bowing and offering incense at these altars expresses both the recognition of the sublime spiritual qualities shown by these statues and aspiration to manifest these are qualities within ourselves.

ONLINE COLLECTION OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA COPPER STATUES :::
 
 
About Shakyamuni Buddha:

SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA: SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA BUDDHA

Shakyamuni Buddha was born about 2549 years ago in what is now Nepal . He was known as Siddhartha Gautama, a prince and son of King Suddhodana and Queen Mayadevi. At the age of 29, he renounced the luxury of his royal heritage to take up the life of a religious wanderer. He submitted himself to rigorous and extreme ascetic practices, putting forth a superhuman struggle for six strenuous years. At the age of 35, after gaining profound insight into the true nature of reality (Dharma), he attained complete enlightenment. For the remainder of his life, living as the perfect embodiment of all the virtues he preached, the Buddha ('Awakened One') traveled widely teaching the Dharma. He offered his teachings to men, women, and children from all walks of life so they could also end suffering and attain awakening.

The Buddha Sakyamuni, at the moment of enlightenment, invoked the earth as witness, as indicated by the fingers of his right hand, which spread downward in Bhumisparshana Mudra, the "gesture of touching the earth." As the Buddhist Sutras relate, the sun and moon stood still, and all the creatures of the world came to offer obeisance to the Supreme One who had broken through the boundaries of egocentric existence. All Buddhist art celebrates this supreme moment and leads the viewer toward the Buddha's stylized footprints served as supports for contemplating what was ultimately beyond words or form. As the possibility he presented. "Don't look at me," he said, "but to the enlightened state." The first anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha are said to have been drawn on canvas from rays of golden light emanating from his body. Later Buddhist art pictured the Buddha in numerous manifestations, but always as an archetype of human potential, never as a historically identifiable person. All forms of the Buddha, however, are commonly shown seated on a lotus throne, a symbol of the open space, so too does the mind rise through the discord of its own experience to blossom in the boundlessness of unconditional awareness.

Buddhism is not a static doctrine, but a creative expression of the interdependent nature of all things. It is a means by which we can discover in the heart of experience, not ourselves, but a luminous and unfolding mystery. Buddhism envisions the universe as a net of jewels, each facet of reality reflecting every other facet. Our calling is not to escape this web of interdependent origination, but to awaken to our indwelling Buddha nature, to see the world for what it is, and to become Buddhas in our own right - beings of infinite awareness and compassion. "Be a light unto yourself," Buddha Sakyamuni declared at the end of his life. Become a Buddha, an awakened being, he urged, but never a blind follower of tradition. The image of the Buddha, transcending time and place, centers us in our innermost being. All the images in Celestial Gallery lead, ultimately, to the same dynamic serenity in which the light touch of a hand can tame the entire universe.
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