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This is a bronze sculpture of an important Gelukpa teacher identified as Champa Tashi in the inscription along its base. The teacher is seated in meditation and holds his hands in the gesture of teaching (dharmacakramudra). Once his hands also held the stalks of lotuses of which only fragments to the sides of the upper arms remain. The teacher sits on a double petaled lotus base to which the figure is attached with rivets. The inscription includes wishes that the donor Sanggye Lhaksam Dakpa and all beings may attain awakening and even mentions the artist, Buddhasimha, presumably a Newar from the Kathmandu valley.
Geluk Teacher Champa Tashi
OriginCentral Tibet
Date16th century
Dimensions17 × 11 1/2 × 7 5/8 in.
MediumBronze with silver and copper inlays
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art
Object numberC2011.5
DescriptionThis figure has a finely modeled face with a serene, even contemplative expression, but silver eyes and copper lips add a spark that makes it appear very much alive. The monk is dressed in rich Tibetan monastic garments and wears a pointed hat with long earflaps used in the Sakya and Geluk traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. The details of the monastic dress are executed with great care on both the front and back of this sculpture. Lighter motifs indicating brocade patterns are found on the main garment, while its hem has a thick, finely modeled scroll. This is a bronze sculpture of an important Gelukpa teacher identified as Champa Tashi in the inscription along its base. The teacher is seated in meditation and holds his hands in the gesture of teaching (dharmacakramudra). Once his hands also held the stalks of lotuses of which only fragments to the sides of the upper arms remain. The teacher sits on a double petaled lotus base to which the figure is attached with rivets. The inscription includes wishes that the donor Sanggye Lhaksam Dakpa and all beings may attain awakening and even mentions the artist, Buddhasimha, presumably a Newar from the Kathmandu valley.
Not on view
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