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As Bhutan is very rich in slate,
a number of large pieces of that material are
intricately engraved with deities, monks and saints
of Tantric Buddhism. The most beautiful adorn the
central tower of the Simtokha Dzong and as they are
still inscribed, are treasures of Bhutanese art.
Clay images are very common and are entirely
painted. Their size can vary greatly, from the very
small images that are placed in portable chapels
called tashigomangs to the huge statues of two or
three meters high, as in Kurje and Phajoding
monasteries. Fine even clay is either molded on a
core of wood wrapped in cloth or molded directly
without any support, with the statue remaining
hollow. Some small additions may be then molded
before being added to the main body. Miniature
stupas made of clay and sometimes mixed with the
ashes of the dead are called tshatsha and are very
common in holy places. They are molded before being
painted or whitewashed.
Metal images are called by the conventional term
bronzes but are usually made other copper alloys.
Silver and gold statues, although rare, do exist.
The lost wax, or cirri per due, casting technique,
which was introduced in Bhutan by Newari craftsmen
from Nepal, is widely used for the medium sized
images. The tall images and large commemorative
stupas, however, are first hammered from sheets of
various sizes and then embossed and engraved and
finally reviving joins the separate parts. Most of
the metal images and stupas are gilded and some are
even ornamented with coral and turquoise. The
statues are frequently inlaid with silver and copper
and paints are applied to the faces, to emphasize
the eyes and details such as the moustache and the
headdress. From the eighteenth century, altars and
stupas were frequently ornamented with sheets of
beautifully embossed and chiseled gilded copper,
primarily in western Bhutan (in Phajoding, Gangtey,
and Thadra Gompa). Some images are made of lacquered
wood have a striking expression, such as Milarepa’s
statue in Dungtse Lhakhang in Paro.
Religious book covers are also made of wood, and
when the books are quite precious, the upper covers
are finely carved with deities and often painted or
covered with sheets of embossed copper.
Other statues, which may date back to the sixteenth
century, have very simple but striking features.
Their bases are not carved, and no definite
influence can be discerned in them. The statue of
the fourth Sha-mar Chhoekyi Drakpa (1453-1524) at
Thangbi Lhakhang in Bumthang is a good example. From
the eighteenth century onward, statues were much
more ornate, very often inlaid with semiprecious
stones and having a base carved in a double row of
lotus petals.
Paintings and statues are consecrated in a religious
ceremony destined to give life to the painting or
the statue. A holy lama may even apply his hand
prints at the back of the scroll, while inside the
statue will be placed a piece of wood and papers
inscribed with sacred formulas. |
